Drums of Asgard
by LilyRosetheDreamer
Summary: Two Gods wander the universe together...and they both hear drums from the ghosts they're trying to escape.
1. Chapter 1

Drums of Asgard.

Hi all! This is a flash of inspiration that hit me one night when Steam chatting with a group of friends. I must credit the lovely GLaDOS a.k.a October Revolution for the amazing title. Hopefully, you will all enjoy my efforts!

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel character or Doctor Who.

* * *

Beginning.

It all started with a blue box.

A box that locked away a whole other world of stars and time. It was a portal to planets, galaxies…even parallel universes.

And Chaos got to see them all with the Oncoming Storm.

* * *

He'd been defeated. Defeated, cowed and upset.

A ragtag group of mostly mortals (if you excluded his not brother) had brought him to his knees (in the dull green giant's case, literally) and his brother still expected everything to be better now! Like beating the hell out of his adopted little brother could solve everything.

He'd always been such an oaf.

The room was in shambles with holes on the ceiling, a rocky imprint in the concrete floor where Loki lay a few minutes ago in pain and dust and blood spatters dotted the area. It wasn't quite what Loki had envisioned.

At least the God of Mischief tried.

Then again, that's what everyone always said.

_Good try, Loki._

_You tried your best._

_You nearly won my approval…but not quite._

Loki wobbled but remained standing in an act of defiance and pride. He opened his mouth to say something hopefully half-clever, for his head spun wildly and he couldn't feel his tongue.

And the noise started.

A grating noise that was the sound of the Void and Bifrost Bridge all at once, a sound that rocked your core and left you looking around wildly, desperate to find out where it came from because you wanted to run away with it and find adventure, quests beyond your childhood dreams and fantasies! Loki pressed himself against the cracked wall, fearing the noise while his idiotic not brother and the rest of the multi coloured Avengers scanned the area with their weapons at the ready, wary and weary of fighting.

Maybe he could run while they were distracted?

From the shadows of space it emerged, hazing into existence like a mirage constantly breaking and reforming in the ripples of a golden desert.

It was a blue box.

A blue box just appeared out of nowhere.

Perhaps he truly was mad after all.

Or just tired.

Loki slid a little further down the wall.

Every available weapon was trained on the blue box straight away, hasty glances thrown his way, filled with suspicion. Loki could see Hawkeye fighting the urge to turn round and put an arrow through his skull and quelled his smirk. Suddenly there was a burst of noise and a blur in a long brown coat barged out of the box, holding his hands in surrender while a cheery smile worked his way across his face. Clearly, he was used to this.

"Hello!" he calls to them, gazing around the room with childish brown eyes. "Wow, you lot have made a big mess, haven't you?"

The safety came off on Black Widow's gun and the strange man (he felt unreal and Loki couldn't quite pin down why that was) gave a loud sigh.

"Oh, always about the weapons with you lot, isn't it? If it's not swords, then it's bayonets and if it's not those, it's guns! Honestly, I wonder why you humans bother studying history. You never learn from it!"

"Who are you?" Black Widow asked quietly, straight to business as usual and Loki felt his body prickle because he was sure that the man has been asked that before.

The floppy-haired man grinned again, slowly lowering his hands into his big coat pockets.

"I love it when people ask me that! I'm the Doctor."

He was definitely not human and Captain America eyed him in defensive wariness.

"How many more weirdoes are we gonna meet today?!" Ironman threw his hands up into the air and the one calling himself the Doctor beamed at the sight of him.

"What a brilliant man you are! I mean, look at that suit! Pure craftsmanship, that is!" he chirped, circling the billionaire with wonder.

Tony Stark preened a little under the Doctor's compliment and Hawkeye rolled his eyes.

"Don't bloat his head even more."

"What are you a Doctor of anyway?" Bruce Banner asked with interest, having calmed down enough to turn back into his mild mannered self.

"Oooh, not much. Just bits and bobs really." Doctor replied, his mouth quirking upwards a little. The probable alien took advantage of the confused opening to stroll over to Loki, who slid another inch down the wall. Weapons followed but he didn't seem too ruffled about that.

"Now then…Loki, Loki. You HAVE been in the wars, haven't you? A god, a man of tricks and magic! It's been a while since I saw you." He pulled the startled Asgardian's – no Jotun's face forward and peered into his eyes, his own suddenly solemn and so OLD. Loki's unease grew and something foreign stirred fretfully in his mind.

"You got a nasty case of blue eye there."

Thor spoke up finally, bewildered.

"Surely you jest? My brother's eyes are green."

"No, Thor, God of Thunder," Doctor answered, pressing his fingers to a squirming Loki's temples. There was a roaring in Loki's ears and his mouth was dry.

"They're blue."

And then the world siphoned away from Loki as he felt a blindingly painful tug on his mind and nothing made sense anymore as everything he knew fell into the Void with him a second time.

It was a nightmare greedily pulling him away.

* * *

And that's the first chapter! Hope you all like it!

Love Lily. X


	2. Chapter 2

Drums of Asgard.

Well guys, here is Chapter Two! Thank you for the lovely reception and feedback for just one chapter!

* * *

Weight of Sin.

Thor started forward as Loki sagged against the apparently acquaintance with a choked cry and the Doctor lifted his hands to support the God of Mischief.

"What did you do to my brother?!" Thor demanded in anger, raising his mighty hammer threateningly.

"Just gave him a helping hand. Well, a helping mind but that's not the point here." Doctor replied casually and he stood up, cradling Loki in his rather skinny arms.

"Give Loki to me. He needs to be dealt with." Thor said, dropping his voice with reluctance in his hardened gaze.

"No."

Thor paused and the Avengers exchanged startled looks.

"No?"

"Not until I can explain to you what I just did and why it happened. Otherwise you'll only close off your ears like Asgardians always do and punish him in a way your father sees fit to save the dignity of your entire nation! And I won't stand for it."

The humanoid's voice was dark and it was that moment that made them all aware that this was not a person to be trifled with. The Doctor swept by them all and stepped back into the blue box. After an uncertain silence, he poked his head from around one of the doors, raising an eyebrow at the way they all stood round like a bunch of awkward toddlers.

"What are you lot standing around for? Come on!" he called impatiently and Thor made the first move, striding towards the contraption and going inside, his normally open face blank.

Tony and Bruce's curiosity (or rather scientific nosiness) won out and they followed.

Moments later, Bruce stumbled backwards with a shocked look, whispering "No" over and over. Ironman leapt outside, looking like all his Christmas presents from childhood had been bundled into one giant package, his brown eyes sparkling with unconcealed joy that could only be found in a scientific genius.

"It's bigger on the inside, oh my god! Yes, this is beyond fascinating, WOOHOO!"

With a shout, he went running out of the room with his arms above his head.

"Well, that wasn't weird at all." Black Widow stated sardonically and, with raised eyebrows, the rest trooped inside.

Immediately, they were assaulted with the fact that the space craft WAS bigger on the inside.

Much much bigger.

"How…is this possible?" Captain America breathed, edging cautiously down the ramp to what appeared to be the control panel.

Black Widow remained surprisingly calm, running her fingers along the railing and watching Hawkeye, who was still on edge. Bursting back in, Tony and Bruce leapt almost gleefully to the control station.

"SCIENCE!" they exclaimed in childlike happiness, hopping up and down in one spot and the Doctor laughed, looking slightly smug.

"I like you two! We can all be science buddies!"

His gaze softened however as it alighted on Thor crouching over his adoptive little brother, carefully placing his cape over his still form on the floor. Loki's breathing was stilted and Thor clearly couldn't care less about the TARDIS.

"What is this place?" Hawkeye asked, possibly expecting an alien mutant to pop out from under the grating on the ground to attempt mass murder any second.

"The TARDIS! Stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space! Ain't she a beaut?" he patted the console fondly and continued, "We've been on so many adventures, her and I."

Captain America was sceptical, yet awed.

"I want to explore every inch of her." Bruce said dreamily and Tony banged his head on the underside of the TARDIS' controls.

"Easy there, tiger." He commented, rubbing at the sore spot with a crap eating smirk.

"That will have to wait for later," the Doctor answered, as crestfallen as the other two. "I promised that I would explain everything and I will."

The others gathered while Thor stayed near Loki, absently stroking a limp hand.

"What outer space crap have you got for us?" Clint grumbled, refusing to put down his bow.

Doctor made an indignant face but brushed it off, the soft blue and white lighting of his craft stroking shadows around his dark brown eyes.

"First of all, my people – the Time Lords (Gallifreyans really), we all have psychic abilities. We can delve into the mind and manipulate it…for good or for bad."

"Brilliant…_more_ aliens."

Clint was ignored as the Time Lord's face sunk momentarily before brightening again.

"_But_ not to worry! I did it for a good reason!"

"Which we'd love to hear about." Black Widow interjected pointedly and the Doctor nodded sheepishly.

"Sorry, sorry, I tend to get a bit carried away. Anyway, long story short, Loki had no control over what he was doing."

There was a stunned pause.

"Are you trying to tell me that this WASN'T his fault?!" Barton exclaimed, standing up aggressively and dropping his bow, pointing angrily at Loki. "He took over MY mind and tried to kill and maim hundreds of people! Don't make excuses for him!"

The Doctor looked sad.

"People do terrible things under the influence of others. If you want to go down that road, I could say the same thing to you."

Hawkeye opened his mouth, shut it and sat down, placing his bow horizontally across his lap and rubbing the string, feeling Natasha's eyes burning into him.

"So my brother was forced into doing all of this?" Thor asked, trying to repress his rage and gripping Loki's pale hand tightly.

"Basically, I was able to remove the mind lock, though it was painful for him. Nothing I could do about that, I'm afraid. We'll have to wait and see what he remembers when he comes round."

Thor turned his intense gaze back to Loki, naked worry in his chiselled features. Loki seemed so small.

"Will that be painful too?"

"It depends," the Doctor sighed. "If he regains these memories, then yes, it will likely be so. I'm not sure whether he'll even remember his time under control."

Black Widow studied his serious expression for a moment as the Avengers contemplated this new information.

"You know something." She challenged and the Doctor acknowledged this.

"I was just getting to that actually. I've seen this mind breaking technique before."

His voice was grim and Thor raised his head from staring at Loki to scrutinise the Doctor again.

"He calls himself the Other and that army you fought against was led by him, not Loki. He's clever and sneaky, never likes to be in the firing line."

The scruffy haired Time Lord began to pace.

"And I'm willing to be that Loki wasn't a willing participant at first, which is why he brainwashed him. The question is…why? Why did they attack Earth like this?"

"And why use Loki?" Ironman finished and everyone scratched their heads over these questions.

Loki shifted abruptly under Thor's cape and his older brother jerked to attend to him.

"Brother? Loki, can you hear me?"

Loki's eyes fluttered and reeled around wildly in fear and delusion before focusing on Thor. A rasp wheezed out of his mouth and Thor carefully lifted his upper body up into a sitting position, wrapping his thick arms around him.

"Loki, you're safe. You're alive and safe…thank the Nines."

When there was still no response from Loki, Thor chanced a glance at him.

Wide emerald eyes streamed with tears, desperate and shocked. With a sinking heart, Thor understood that Loki remembered everything.

Everything.

Without a word, Loki nuzzled into his large shoulder and didn't move, crying silently from emotional exhaustion. He was just tired now.

He couldn't keep up his walls anymore, not after this.

Thor pressed his forehead against Loki's, feeling the smaller god shiver and the Doctor motioned for everyone to leave.

The two brothers were left to pick up the pieces by themselves.

* * *

Alrighty, that's chapter two. I hope everything was good and in order. See you soon!

Love Lily. X


	3. Chapter 3

Drums of Asgard.

Hi all! Back again with a new chapter! A shout out to my lovely loyal fans, Nine and Jinny!

Together, we will take over the universe…apparently.

* * *

The God Who Cried.

There were no words spoken after everyone left.

Not straight away.

Thor held Loki as he cried into Thor's big shoulder, wary of opening his mouth and saying something unreasonable.

What happened to Loki for them all to end up in this situation?

What did the Chitauri do to his beloved little brother?

He wasn't sure if Asgard was the right path anymore.

Loki whispered his name and Thor bent his head to give Loki his full attention.

"Yes, little brother?"

Loki didn't – couldn't – look him in the eye.

"Don't…I am not worthy of that title…not anymore."

Thor hesitated, then reached with a big hand and lifted the pale chin to make his brother meet his burning gaze.

"Loki, you have and will ALWAYS be my brother. I don't care what Odin implies or what anyone in the Nine Realms dares to say! I promised to be your kin and in Frigga's name, I shall do so! Understand?"

Big green eyes welled up again and Loki clung to him, hiding his bruised, clammy face once more.

"I want to believe you."

The rest of the sentence remained unsaid, but Thor knew what it was anyway. The blonde struggled to think of what to say, for it was Loki who had been the Word Smith in their brotherhood, a calm smile and a tongue of clear silver and a heart of gold. He'd say anything and it sounded like the Midgardian bard Shakespeare was weaving poetry from within. Nobody could help but listen. And now Loki was in utter shock, the task of making everything better fell to Thor.

But how?

Thor only knew how to rectify wrongs with a hammer made from steel forged from the mightiest stars. It crushed all foes, enveloping them in a barbed blanket of lightning and protected those who could not defend themselves. If that wasn't available, he used his bare hands. What good was his own mouth made of rock and brain from lead?

Loki's hands fisted into his armour, trying to find a hold that ensured he wouldn't be able to let go and Thor's heart overwhelmed his ability to breathe. It was like they were children again.

Loki needed him.

Thor Odinson hadn't been there for Loki Odinson lately and, quite frankly, that was a crime that should be punishable. Why wasn't Loki yelling at him?

Gods knew he deserved it.

Then again, Loki wasn't one for yelling and screaming.

"Loki," he began with a good degree of uncertainty and Loki peeked up at him, emerald orbs still huge with fear. "You know I never wanted this to happen."

"Neither did I!" Loki cried, pushing Thor away suddenly to move backwards. "I only wanted - !"

He broke off and covered his mouth with his scratched hands, eyebrows furrowed in loss.

"I don't know what I wanted. I cannot…I do not understand!" he choked out and it pained Thor to see his normally composed brother so broken.

The God of Thunder pulled him back into his embrace, almost physically feeling Loki's raging storm of emotions.

"I cannot go back, Thor!" Loki seemed inconsolable at this point, struggling to break free from Thor's bear-like arms.

"I am starting to agree, brother," Thor replied calmly, Loki freezing as he let loose his opinion. "But only until YOU are ready, which you're not at this moment in time."

The smaller god slumped into Thor, clenching and unclenching his slim hands. Thor finally let go and studied him.

"We have much to talk about, brother."

Loki shied away.

"No now. I do not want to deal with the past right now."

Thor sighed as the raven haired man stood unsteadily without assistance, wiping his battered face so that there were no more tears lingering. Loki was retreating into himself once more and it would be like drawing blood from a stone if he tried to discover what happened to make Loki so lost. So Thor just watched with a heavy heart as Loki limped out of the door of the TARDIS with a stubborn set to his chin.

* * *

"Ah, hello!"

Loki paused at the sight of the Doctor standing alone in the room, hands shoved into his pockets.

"Hello." He replied in a guarded tone, taking a step backwards. He didn't know what to make of this Doctor.

"Did you have a full, detailed conversation with your brother?"

Loki didn't answer, opting to fold his arms defensively instead.

"No, of course not." Here he leaned forward, studying him closely. "There's a lot of people you're in trouble with, isn't there?"

There lay a musing tone to his voice and Loki acknowledged this fact wearily.

"They should be angry at me." He muttered hoarsely, wishing his throat wasn't so dry. He held himself in an awkward manner so his wounds wouldn't be aggravated and the Doctor's deep eyes appraised him swiftly.

"You're not going to face them though, are you? You're running off."

Loki stiffened.

"I am NOT running away!" he hissed, dull green eyes flashing in denial.

"No, no, you're right!" Doctor nodded, spreading his hands in a peaceful gesture. "If you're not running away, how do you feel about travelling instead?"

The god's eyes narrowed immediately in distrust.

"What do you mean?"

The Doctor's face lit up in a combination of mischief, adventure and solemnity all at once and Loki suppressed a shiver as the Time Lord held out a hand.

"Come with me, Loki Odinson. Come run with me."

* * *

Well now, who thinks Loki will say yes?

You'll just have to find out!

Love Lily. X


	4. Chapter 4

Drums of Asgard.

Pip pip, Avengers and Whovians! Here is chapter four of this story! Prepare for adventure.

* * *

The God Who Ran.

Loki stared at the outstretched hand and made the most impulsive decision of his life.

He reached out and took the Doctor's hand.

* * *

"So, you're leaving now? Already?" Tony asked for the tenth time, disappointment written all over his face.

"I'm afraid so, Mr Stark!" The Doctor's voice bounced cheerfully from the inner sanctum of the TARDIS.

"But you just got here…" Bruce protested sadly.

"You give us this information and _leave_?" Hawkeye added, throwing his hands in the air.

"I can't do everything for you humans! You've done well enough without me at this point." The lanky man pointed out and Ironman sighed.

"Well, I AM Tony Stark. Even if they can't figure it out, I will." He gestured grandly to the other Avengers and Captain America rolled his eyes.

"_That's_ the spirit!" Doctor cried and a loose wire flew out of the door, nearly hitting Bruce.

Hawkeye and Black Widow stood apart from the colourful group crowded around the TARDIS, mostly because Hawkeye didn't want to go near Loki, for he was uncertain of how to act around him.

"Director Fury is going to flip when he finds out about this," Hawkeye grumbled. "I can't believe we're letting him go with possibly vital information! We barely even know this alien!"

Black Widow got out her phone and pressed the touch screen.

"Actually, we know him better than you think."

On the screen flashed many names, news reports and faces. And they all had one thing in common.

"What are you getting at?" asked Clint, running a hand through brown hair.

"The Doctor has been involved with all of these extra-terrestrial incidents reported throughout history, whether through the media or eyewitness accounts; the most recent one being the assassination of our President."

The man beside her stared at the piling evidence in astonishment.

"He's had dealings with Torchwood?!"

"And SHIELD." Natasha added casually.

"I don't remember that!"

Black Widow elbowed him hard.

"It was before our time, idiot."

Hawkeye took the phone Natasha offered to him and scrolled through with a gaping jaw.

Captain America stared out of the window, his hands clasped behind his back. Ironman might appear to be the leader of the Avengers in the eyes of the public, but it was clear that Steve Rogers was the real commander. And he still wasn't sure he had made the right decision. What if this Doctor was in cohorts with Loki and the Chitauri and this was all just some elaborate scheme by the verdant-garbed god? Would the world unravel as soon as they turned their backs?

Steve sighed and closed his bright eyes.

They'd have to find out.

So, the Avengers were letting him go.

They'd deal with SHIELD later.

As if Nick Fury didn't already know.

Bruce bent over the TARDIS controls for one last peak, saddened at the prospect of losing such a cacophony of scientific exploration. He liked to think of himself as an optimist though and the bespectacled man hoped they would see the Doctor again.

Thor just waited patiently, Loki not among those gathered. He clearly wanted some space to digest all that had befallen him and Thor would willingly give that opportunity to him. Loki probably felt overwhelmed and stressed and the God of Thunder would only make things worse if he kept following the younger man around.

"Right then, off I go!"

The group collectively went forward to say their goodbyes and the Doctor smiled and thanked them for their time.

Then he turned around and entered the blue box, grinning at the quiet figure in the centre of the room with mischievous dark eyes.

"Where do you want to go? You can go anywhere at all, to places you've dreamed of!"

Thor left the gathering early to tell Loki that the unusual man was gone and found that Loki had vanished as well. Thor might not be as bright as his brother, but he put two together pretty quickly this time. And all he could do was slide down the wall with a wry smile on his face as the others joined him and started to realise Loki wasn't where he should be.

"You'd better return, Loki."

Loki's emerald eyes hazed over in thought and he didn't quite meet his almost-saviour's gaze.

Where could a person like him go that would make him truly content?

"I would…like to float amongst the stars."

"Oh, you're a deep thinker! I love deep thinkers! You guys have done the most interesting things in history!" Doctor laughed, jumping around the console. "You'd better hold on to something because she's a bumpy girl to ride!"

The whole craft shuddered suddenly and jerked as Loki stumbled and braced himself against the silver railing. Her song echoed eerily through time and the hairs on his arms and neck prickled.

"Allon-sy!" the Time Lord's voice shouted with a free tone as the Avengers helplessly watched the TARDIS fade away into the secret folds of the universe, stealing Loki away completely.

* * *

Loki walked to the doors and opened them once the TARDIS had settled down, peering slowly out into space. The man that provided his ticket to escape rested his head over Loki's shoulder, gazing out with the air that he'd seen it before, but oh, how he loved it still.

"What do you think?

The Prince of Words was speechless.

It was beautiful.

Perfection.

More cleansing and sprinkled with stars than the Void. Reds, golds, silvers, indigos and white all interlocked into each other like a tapestry was being woven by goddesses with fair hands and kind smiles. Moon dust drifted gently by, twinkling a dusky pink and everything was still, yet moving at the same time, despite there being no gravity or air. The sheer size and endlessness of it hit him in a cold wave but it wasn't intimidating in any way. The galaxies and heavens opened their arms to the abruptly small god, showing him peace and pulling out the murk that had gathered potently in his mind and heart.

He was peaceful.

Thor would never understand this view, this joy.

He would never have understood how Loki felt right now.

"I…I do not know."

Doctor smiled languidly.

"I felt the same way the first time I saw this too. Take as long as you want."

Loki listened to his footsteps plodding away and he stretched out an arm to touch the stars.

He was oh so tired.

Maybe he could rest properly now.

He touched his forehead against the edge of the wooden door and whispered;

"Goodbye for now…brother."

* * *

That's the next chapter done. Hope it was decent enough! And this takes place before season four of Doctor Who, with Martha having just left the Doctor's side.

Will we see a red head soon?

Who knows?

Love Lily. X


	5. Chapter 5

Drums of Asgard.

Hello again! The real adventure starts now and Doctor and Loki investigate some very strange goings on in the pyramids.

* * *

Murder on Mercury.

The Doctor scanned Loki with the TARDIS scanners and smiled in satisfaction.

"Your ribs are doing very well, Loki. I think you're well enough to travel properly now."

Loki turned his eyes away from the strange patterns on the ceiling and nodded to the Gallifreyan. He'd been recovering from the New York battle for a month and honestly, he was getting bored.

"You have my thanks. I will have to repay your kindness."

The Doctor laughed lightly, shutting off the scanner and handing Loki his armour and tunic so he could quickly dress his top half again.

"Nah, don't say that. I thought I would have a tough time getting you to cooperate, but your behaviour has been brilliant!"

Loki scowled slightly at the implications in that sentence.

"I am not a child, Doctor."

"Yeah, yeah, you're a god, I know," the other man replied, waving one hand in dismissal. "But gods don't exist in my world. I've seen too many creatures claiming to be gods."

Loki digested his words, hiding the sting to his pride. Nevertheless, he remained passive.

"Besides, it would not be beneficial to me right now if I "misbehaved"." Loki continued smoothly like the Doctor hadn't spoken a word.

"Fair enough." Was his casual response.

It appeared that the Doctor understood what Loki was getting at. The Doctor held a position of power over Loki at this point. Even though Loki acted under the control of the Tesseract and subsequently the Other, the Doctor was keeping watch. Loki couldn't shake the feeling that the Doctor KNEW about the events on Asgard between himself, Odin and Thor. And he was certain that the Time Lord had witnessed many happenings that possibly dwarfed Loki's own experiences.

It wouldn't be wise to act out of turn.

Loki started to wander away towards the library, a room he discovered on his first day in the TARDIS, much to the amusement of the Doctor. His fingers were already itching to pull another dusty old tome off the shelves and his mind wanted to dive into another world. It was a respite that had never failed him yet. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get that chance for a while as the Doctor turned and grinned wickedly.

"What do you say to a bit of exploring?"

Loki's curiosity peaked, despite himself, and the raven haired man slowly pivoted to gaze with wide green eyes.

"Where would we go?"

The Doctor became a blur of motion, practically dancing around the console.

"I was thinking the future! Mercury is at the centre of a colonisation project and the new pioneers are delving into its history…sounds great!"

He rubbed his hands together in glee and Loki cocked his head to one side.

"History? I thought Mercury had no means to sustain life?"

"Ah, you ARE well read, aren't you? We're off to Mercury then!"

Loki found no will to protest this decision, for his energy to do what he pleased had faded like the certainty of where he truly belonged had on Asgard. If his partner wanted to go to Mercury, then he could.

Loki didn't care.

At least, that's what he told his little spark of adventure anyway. The curiosity didn't listen, shining through his verdant eyes and the Doctor smiled at the break through of emotion.

"You'll enjoy it there. You have a thirst for knowledge and that always makes us EXPLORE."

The Jotun found himself agreeing.

* * *

The door opened out on to dusky red and gold and Loki wondered why they were breathing as the heat immediately hit him in the face.

"Wow, would you look at that? Mercury is the closest planet to this galaxy's Sun, you know?"

The former Asgardian didn't answer, still taking in the craters bigger than any Frost Giant he'd ever seen. He was already feeling uncomfortable from the heat and started to regret agreeing to this planet.

"Why is it so hot here?"

The Doctor frowned as he glanced at him.

"Oh, come on, you're not going to let a bit of heat scare you off, right?"

Loki's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and he gave Doctor the cold shoulder.

"I was simply asking you a question."

"Ah, well, that's because there's practically no atmosphere here. Therefore, the temperature drops in the day and night are pretty extreme. The entrance to the excavations sites are tailored to help the humans live comfortably."

The slightly shorter man nodded, craning his neck upwards to look at the glass reflecting the strange, misty light from outside. So they were inside somewhere. The Doctor wouldn't be stupid enough to land outside where they could suffocate.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

The two turned to see a dumpy woman with a red body suit standing in the doorway, regarding them suspiciously.

"I'm pretty sure you're not authorised to be here."

Loki opened his mouth but the Doctor whipped out a blank identification paper.

"Hi, we're the Excavation Safety Inspectors. Sorry about this, but you're getting a surprise inspection on your safety protocols."

Loki felt confused. There was nothing on that paper but the woman was reading it like all the information she needed was on there.

"Oh, really?" she sighed in exasperation. "They never give us enough clearance time to make sure everything is up to scratch. That's really going to piss off Dr Lee."

"Dr Lee?"

"The Head Honcho of this excavation. Any questions you have, anything you find goes straight to him. He knows his history, that's for sure."

She paused, eyes flitting up and down Loki's body.

"You're dressed weirdly for this."

"He's new." Doctor cut in quickly. "It's kind of an initiation, if you like."

Loki wasn't sure whether to be insulted or relieved. He decided to raise an eyebrow and not comment instead.

"Fine, come on. I'd rather not stick around to see Dr Lee's temper." The woman muttered and she led them inside the Pyramids of Mercury.

No one knew that they might not come back alive.

* * *

Hope this chapter had enough foreshadowing.

Love Lily. X


	6. Chapter 6

Drums of Asgard.

So…you all want to know about the shadows that lurk within the site? The monster that roams the long forgotten temple halls?

Perhaps…perhaps it was a bad idea to ask.

* * *

Murder on Mercury: Part Two.

Sunita (for that was her name) walked quickly up the corridor, the Doctor and Loki trailing behind her. Loki peered round with poorly disguised interest, catching glimpses of many professional looking people darting around in white coats and black business suits.

Not all of the inhabitants here were…people however.

Loki actually did a three sixty at one point to stare at a being that looked like a Midgardian elephant, but had three sets of wide ears and a big mouth with fairly jagged teeth that he was certain had never belonged to any elephant on Earth. It lumbered down the hallway in a janitor's outfit. The hallways themselves seemed like the run of the mill science blocks, with air vents, silver flooring and flashy lights on machines that Loki struggled to identify. The Doctor was fairly at home with it all, barely sparing a glance at anything as he chatted amiably with their unwilling guide. Some doors were slightly ajar, giving the god a quick peek into their chambers. People eating, or sleeping or even-!

Oh.

Oh dear.

Loki hurried onwards, his face flushing a beet red.

"So, what exactly are you excavating right now anyway?" Doctor asked curiously and Sunita perked up at this question, finally willing to talk properly.

"We call them the Pyramids of Mercury. We haven't completely explored them yet, but we're pretty sure they were temples for the dead. There are some neat ritual chambers in the deeper levels too!"

Loki vaguely wondered what sort of rituals had taken place there. Then he pushed that thought firmly out of his head, because rituals were NOT what he wanted to think about right now.

Not after the Chitauri.

He realised they weren't walking anymore and avoided colliding with the Doctor as Sunita raised her hand and knocked, adjusting her badge as she did so.

"Come in, come in, I haven't got all day!" a grumpy male voice answered and the three trooped in to meet Dr Lee.

"Sir…we have safety inspectors again." Sunita supplied nervously.

"Are you bloody serious?" the English man blustered, snapping his neck up to glare at the Doctor and Loki. "We only just had the last ones!"

"Ah, well, we're the surprise safety inspectors! Surprise!" Doctor replied, waving his hands a bit.

"I'm surprised, alright," muttered Dr Lee, running a hand through thinning grey hair. "I suppose you want to look at the Pyramids then?"

Loki eyed the messy office, with the papers strewn everywhere, and couldn't see how the archaeologist got anything done on time or efficiently. But then again, he wasn't the one running this operation.

"Right, keep up, we haven't got all day!" barked Dr Lee and the group that now consisted of four hurriedly power walked through three more corridors and to a grand stone entrance, littered with debris and rocks with ancient carvings.

"Wow, would you look at this, Loki?" the Doctor cried in excitement, spreading his arms out wide. "This is incredible!"

Loki was impressed, though he didn't want to show it. He didn't feel like he could trust anyone enough to let his emotions show properly, for who knows how they could use them against him? His emerald eyes sparkled with bright keenness however and the Doctor gave him a slight grin as a reward before following Dr Lee into a narrow stairwell carved from the red rock itself. As the dark closed its tight grip on them, the raven haired not-Asgardian clenched his teeth, hating the claustrophobia that threatened to overwhelm him immediately. His gloved hands shook slightly and he placed them on the soft wall to steady them. The space evened and spread out after a while and Loki let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. Small candles dotted the grooves in the walls here and there and they accentuated the shadows reaching out to stroke the group with their long fingers from the deepest corners. The walls shone a faint ruby and torches and various digging equipment lay scattered on the dusty ground.

"The supports seem safe enough." The Doctor mused as he tugged on the wooden supports embedded in the ceiling and floor.

"We've been working under them for long enough." Dr Lee muttered. "I should bloody hope so."

Sunita smiled faintly and left them to go finish excavating the pot she'd uncovered.

"This is the way to the main chamber. We broke through to it last week!" Dr Lee bustled onwards, letting the Doctor and Loki go behind him.

Despite his feigned disinterest, Loki couldn't help but stop and start as he examined shards of multi-coloured glass, brooches and necklaces, knives that were decorated and made of what appeared to be ebony. By the time he put down a particularly sharp knife, the Doctor and Dr Lee were gone from his sight.

"Doctor?"

Panic rose up hot and fast in his throat as he pushed his way through a gaggle of young archaeologists and ended up more lost than before.

"Doctor? Where are you?!"

This section of the Pyramids clearly hadn't been explored properly yet, for there were only a few candles lighting the path and Loki reflexively curled in on himself. He forced his body to take a step forward anyway and the shadows moved up ahead.

"H-Hello?"

The Jotun cursed himself for sounding weak and twisted sharply as something moved too fast for him to make out behind him.

"Show yourself!" he spat, digging into his magic reserves just in case.

Rustling sounded from behind and he spun round again, just as a black shape ran into the darkness.

"Stop it, it is not funny!" Loki cried out, eyes huge with nerves as a rattling breath crept up closer from the voids and oh god he was back with the Chiatauri, wasn't he?!

He felt like a cornered animal and that wasn't something he was comfortable with feeling. Before he could start panicking, a woman's scream lashed at the air like a whip and the instinct to try and help overtook his fear.

Loki ran towards the sound, leaving the creature to nurse its loss of prey.

By the time he got there, however, it was too late.

The Doctor crouched grimly over the mangled, torn body of Sunita.

Sunita was dead.

* * *

Uh oh. Something does not like being disturbed.

Not at all.

Love Lily. X


	7. Chapter 7

Drums of Asgard.

Sunita is dead and the beast is closing in on other victims. Can the Doctor and Loki save them?

Of course they will…eventually.

* * *

Murder on Mercury: Part Three.

Loki just stared with huge green eyes.

She was alive almost half an hour ago.

Sunita had breathed and smiled and thought and LIVED.

But now she was torn and bloodied, with one leg missing and an eyeball several feet away from her face, trailing membrane after it. Half her stomach and intestines were sprawled out beside her. The amount of blood splattered on the ground and walls was almost obscene and Loki stopped himself from retching at the smell.

The Doctor looked beside himself with anger, but kept it in check, getting out his sonic screwdriver instead. Loki, having not seen it before, stared at it in curiosity.

"What is that?"

He instantly cursed himself for not clearing his dry throat before he talked. The Doctor didn't point out the hoarseness of his voice however.

"A sonic screwdriver. It has a least a thousand settings, maybe more!"

It made a strange whirring sound as he ran it along the body and then the blood soaked ground. He tilted his brown head to read the information it was giving back to him and he looked disgruntled.

"This is why I keep telling humans to stop interfering with matters that are more powerful than they are." He muttered and Loki sidled closer unwillingly.

"What have you discovered?"

The Doctor stood up, stretching slightly as he gazed upon Sunita with tired eyes – eyes that had seen this before.

"Whatever did this was not human. Whatever did this…is a native to Mercury."

The small crowd that gathered round the gruesome scene chattered amongst themselves, nervous and confused. Dr Lee pushed his way to the front and gestured to the body.

"Are you saying an ALIEN did this? Mercury can't hold any forms of life as far as we know! There is no oxygen, no water!" he blustered, sounding affronted that his knowledge was being questioned.

The Doctor levelled him carefully with narrowed eyes.

"Not all beings live on oxygen and water. Not all beings are like you."

Loki kept his face blank, but felt a strange swell of triumph at the deflated air of Dr Lee; after all, he wasn't sure he liked him…he seemed like all the other humans of the world – quick to defend their bad actions and justify fatal flaws.

But who was he to talk?

Suddenly, he felt crowded and threatened, unable to stand the sight of the dead woman any longer. Taking one final glance (oh Norns, were those brain leakages?!), Loki slipped out of the den, hurrying until he found himself out of the Pyramids.

The god hated it down there. Too many humans and their destructive mannerisms cluttering up a possible sacred temple…it was borderline sacrilege.

He huddled down by the doorway, his dark head in between his legs as he remembered how to breathe and struggled to forget Sunita and the unknown terror that had almost killed him too.

* * *

The Doctor found him waiting like that half an hour later as he swept through the door in his long coat. The Time Lord regarded him almost gently for a moment and then plopped down beside him, a grin on his face.

"Squeamish, are we? Ah, it's alright! Not everyone can stomach a dead body. Ugh, nasty things."

If he expected that comment to bring a smile to Loki's face, he was sorely mistaken.

"I have seen many things, Doctor. I am certainly not "squeamish", as you put it." Loki sniffed, raising his pale face to scowl at his travelling companion.

"Oh, you're scowling at me a lot lately. You're so grumpy, where's your sense of adventure?" teased the Doctor, shifting a little, restless as always.

Loki shied away unintentionally, his grassy eyes staring upwards to avoid looking at the Doctor, the man that knew too much.

"I lost that a while ago." He whispered and there was a moment's pause. A heartbeat later, he ended it by saying;

"I think I saw something down there."

The Doctor turned quickly to face him, his face serious and searching.

"Do you know what it looked like? I need to know, Loki. If it's what I think it is…they're all dead unless I stop it."

Loki bit the edge of his thumb unconsciously in thought, recalling certain features through the fear.

"It…had a rattle to its breath…like it was voicing the sounds of the dead. And it used the shadows like they were its home."

He peeked out from under long lashes to gauge the Doctor's reaction. The Doctor certainly had dread written all over his face and Loki's heart sunk.

It couldn't be that bad…could it?

"Come with me, Loki. Come with me right now, I need to test something; I need to see if I'm right!"

The former Asgardian picked himself up and hesitated as the Doctor started striding forwards.

"What will you do if you are wrong?"

"I'll wing it, the same as always!" was the cheery call back over his slim shoulder and Loki wasn't sure why he felt comforted by that vague answer.

Maybe because it sounded like a beautiful lie.

And Loki was well-versed in beautiful lies.

Nevertheless, the hapless god followed the Doctor back into the sea of shadows, nervously peering back as the light was swallowed greedily. The corridors varied in size, some being small enough that you had to hunch to get anywhere and others bigger so you could stand straight and not hit the ceiling. Loki stuck close to the Gallifreyan's side, not trusting his senses in the dark. He hadn't been able to do that for a long time.

"You see, Mercury was inhabited once, long ago," the Doctor talked as they moved and it gave Loki something lighter to focus on. "The Mercurians were…odd even to races like the Sontarans. They spent all their time underground, praying to a god that didn't exist and sacrificing many of their own brethren and some unfortunate souls that happened to wander into the chambers. They literally did nothing else. No recreational activities like chess or tennis or anything! And people wonder why I like humans better! They're less boring for a start!"

The slightly shorter man listened with surprised interest as they wove their way through the empty mazes. It appeared that the humans had evacuated the area, unwilling to die for the sake of a few pots and drawings.

"They dabbled in the arts…areas of magic that shouldn't be touched," the alien continued softly, drawing Loki in with his own magic – the magic of storytelling. "And there was a terrible accident. It twisted them…made them something nobody should ever be. The Shadow Proclamation found them to be a legitimate threat and so they buried them in time and dirt, never to be uncovered. Obviously, humanity didn't listen!"

Loki thought that he could piece together the rest of the story for himself, not that he couldn't have before.

"It appears they have disturbed the mutants then." He said in a low tone and the Doctor nodded, his expression hooded.

They entered a massive chamber, bigger than what Loki had witnessed so far and with a start, he realised it must be the main ritual chamber that had recently been excavated.

"Dr Lee calls it murder," the Gallifreyan intoned gravely as they stepped together into the intricately detailed room. "And I would agree with him usually."

Loki stopped in the middle of the room, craning his head upwards to take in all of the pictures and ancient script while the Doctor carried on to the wall and ghosted his fingers over the runes. His chocolate eyes flickered over his shoulder to catch Loki's gaze and he ended his sentence mournfully.

"But these beings don't know who they are or what they're doing anymore."

The picture behind him depicted a creature with many legs offering up a sacrifice to a being whose identity wasn't visible, not even to Loki.

"Then again, I don't think they ever did."

* * *

Alrighty, that's chapter seven! I'm teasing you all with the monster, I know, but chapter eight will serve to shed some light on what it looks like and what it's called now.

I love writing this for you all!

Love Lily. X


	8. Chapter 8

Drums of Asgard.

The Doctor has shed some light on the mystery…but not all. Is he going to reveal all this time round?

Yes…and it might not be to the pleasure of Dr Lee.

* * *

Murder on Mercury: Part 4.

Loki carefully (almost reverently) touched the walls on the Doctor's left side, intelligent eyes roving the pictures with something akin to nausea.

"Are you saying that these…beings were not in their right mind?"

It hit too close to home for him…far too close.

And the Doctor's sad acceptance didn't help the churning in his stomach.

"I'm afraid so."

Loki had been lowered to the standard of creatures that made crude, garish sacrifices to some parasite living in the planet's crust and it sickened him deeply.

He truly was a monster.

He was aware of the Doctor's eyes watching him carefully, seeing right through him like a glass wall, and he hated it. He prided himself on building up an impenetrable wall that nobody had ever cracked, not even Frigga and now this Doctor was reading him like one of his many precious books.

It hurt, like he was being burned by the Doctor's gaze alone.

The Doctor watched him stiffen under his scrutiny and said nothing, because he knew Loki wasn't ready. And he might be a Time Lord, but even he couldn't predict if Loki ever would be ready to talk about his past.

About himself.

"Right now, these creatures still have the warped sense of worship. And in my opinion, that could mean the main source is still alive."

Loki returned his downcast green eyes to the main carving. It appeared that the main source was some omnipotent creature in a giant pit – wonderful. Unless it was a metaphor, Loki had a bad feeling that the Doctor was about to land in hot water.

And hapless Loki would be dragged along for the ride, no matter how much he dug in his boots.

"What will you do to prove this theory? The humans think you jest."

"Ah, they always do at first," the Doctor said, waving one hand lightly. "They don't want to believe in something that can kill them…that reminds them of their own mortality."

Loki shuddered internally.

The Doctor began to stride away, his converse shoes leaving behind faint imprints in the dust.

"We may as well tell them now, while they're still evacuated."

Loki took one more glance at the carvings and pulled away, trailing after his companion. Just as they were reaching the entrance to the underground corridors, a faint hissing travelled through the dark and Loki jumped, senses on red alert. The Doctor was already backing away, grabbing Loki's arm and pushing him behind his back.

"Stay with me, Loki!" he barked as he whipped out his screwdriver.

Loki's chest rose and fell rapidly as he stared in disbelief. What the hell did he think he could do with that little stick? His magic tingled at his fingertips, ready to summon ice or fire at a moment's notice.

And out of the black crawled a mangled version of what was once a humanoid alien, its head twisting a full three hundred and sixty degrees to stare with filmy eyes the colour of sickly acid. Its hands and arms seemed broken out of their sockets and dust fell off its rotten back as it rose fully off the floor on all fours. Its legs stuck out at the sides and rolled in a peculiar motion; like it had wheels instead of those stick limbs. The mouth was just one deep hole that went on forever and drew you in and paralyzed you - !

"Loki! Focus, focus, we need to back away and run!"

Those death rattles...

Loki's legs shook underneath him as he forced himself out of his half petrified state. The two men slowly moved backwards, one hand going out behind them to feel along the walls and jutting out rocks from the floor. The creature went after them, eyes gleaming almost eagerly at Loki.

"He REALLY likes you…why?" Doctor muttered. "Their victims were chosen carefully before the accident…It had to be about how much energy the sacrifice had as well…"

They reached the second exit.

"RUN!"

The Doctor pushed the former Asgardian ahead as they bolted, feet pounding as they ran for their lives. Every shadow made twitches, looked more sinister than they actually were and Loki's face grew pale with fright. They knew who he was, they were coming for him, and it was the Other all over again, wasn't it?

They tumbled out of the main entrance and slammed the door shut in the thing's face just as it leapt for the magic user's exposed neck. Loki fell to his knees, trembling violently and felt the Doctor's reassuring hand on the small of his back.

"Hey, it's gone for now. Are you okay?"

The Doctor's face said that he had just received an epiphany and Loki's huge eyes narrowed in need of knowledge.

"What is going on?"

The Doctor sighed and blew a stray hair out of his face.

"I thought this might happen. They hunt by locking on to a victim's energy signature and drain away their will to run and resist, bit by bit."

Loki felt dread crawl through his heart.

"Sunita had no chance…and now they've discovered you. Your magic is huge, something I've never seen before. You have the possibility of performing magical feats that dwarf the likes of Gallifreyan leaders. They've locked on to you and they're not going to let you go until you're dead."

Loki laughed bitterly. Of course there was a death threat against him…when wasn't there?

"A lot of beings appear to like my magic tricks. This is nothing new, I assure you."

The Doctor patted his knee.

"You're not the only one they've locked on to, Loki. Mark my words, this won't happen to you."

A fire rose in those deep brown eyes and Loki couldn't help but feel relief, marvelling at the power that suddenly emanated from the Time Lord.

"I'll make sure nobody else dies here! We need to see Dr Lee and prevent any more excavation!"

Loki was helped to his feet and stuck close to the companion he'd recently gained as they converged to Dr Lee's office. The foolish man would not like what they had to say and the god foresaw difficulty with him in the coming hours. But the Doctor was here and the creatures wouldn't be around for much longer.

Loki knew that much at least.

"Dr Lee! I'm afraid I have some bad news!"

The professor jerked upwards angrily as the Doctor breezed in, Loki hovering by the door, uncertain and unwilling to get in the way of the conversation.

"You can't do any more excavation until the mutated Mercurians are gone. They're out for blood, Dr Lee, and I'm not letting that blood be spilt."

The human stood in shocked silence as the Doctor towered over him in determined intimidation.

"And YOU are not going to argue."

* * *

Doctor is on the warpath and Loki is in more danger than he was previously! The containment starts now and not everyone will make it out alive…

Love Lily. X


	9. Chapter 9

Drums of Asgard.

My my, snizzleplops and dragonflies, we're nearing the climax of Murder on Mercury! Where will the Doctor take Loki next?

*taps nose*

Telling would be spoiling!

* * *

Murder on Mercury: Part Five.

The whole Pyramid was closed off, thanks partly to the Doctor's solemn, almost mourning air and partly due to Loki slipping into the conversation smoothly like the Silvertongue name he had gained on Asgard. Dr Lee couldn't deny the evidence behind their words or that the death of Sunita would surely put the other workers on edge and in possible danger.

"We have ways of dealing with residents like these!" the Doctor said brightly as they watched the last of the workers be properly evacuated from the area. "Think of my companion and I as pest control!"

"As well as Safety Inspectors?" Dr Lee asked doubtfully and the Doctor grinned easily enough.

"Yeah, well, government cuts affect a lot of departments, I'm afraid."

Dr Lee chuckled sardonically.

"I know too bloody well about government cuts."

Loki remained silent, wondering why the Midgardian government were cutting up their own people. They truly were a barbaric race.

Dr Lee felt uneasy about letting the two men down there on their own. If the creatures were as dangerous as the Doctor made out, then it would be madness to watch them march off to their possible deaths like that. So he insisted that two security guards went with them, much to the Doctor and Loki's displeasure, for two different reasons.

"We are capable men – we can surely look after ourselves!" Loki argued, feeling insulted about the apparent jibe to his fighting abilities.

"No, I don't want any more people dying like that…not for me."

The other two males stared at the Doctor for a moment and Loki wondered again why the Doctor was so concerned with protecting everyone all the time. The humans had brought it upon themselves with their endless nosiness and he understood why Odin limited access to Asgard. Clearly, Dr Lee seemed to understand something however, for he sighed.

"I'm not going to back down on this one. The amount of paperwork that would need doing if you two died would be atrocious and I wouldn't see myself as a very capable Project Leader either."

The Doctor looked very unhappy but grudgingly backed down, allowing two burly men with big black guns to come trooping to their side. The former Asgardian eyed them both warily, deciding that they reminded him too much of SHIELD for him to be properly comforted by their presence and elected to ignore them. Torches were given out and Loki was told in a firm undertone that it would be best for their cover if he used a torch as well.

With a huff, Loki complied, clicking the button on and off in a bored manner to cover the fact that his hands shook slightly.

"Good luck, Doctor." Lee said, shaking his hand in what he hoped wasn't a final farewell and the Time Lord gave a nod as he focused on the task at hand.

"Alrighty then, fellas! Allon-sy!"

With that, the door swung open under the guiding mechanisms and the band of four were swallowed up by the darkness, unsure of their safe return, but steadfast in their belief of victory.

* * *

The torches cut through the black efficiently and Loki was glad of the light, for it made him feel a little safer. The Doctor was talking again and apparently already learnt the names of the guards (Bob and Terry) with great gusto, asking about their lives and how many children they had. The god didn't understand why he went to such trouble of getting to know them when they were probably going to die. Why bother to hold them close to his heart when they were just going to be ripped away brutally and make him hurt badly?

Unless he wanted to know how best to honour them at their funerals?

Loki shrugged away the thoughts, not willing to chase them around in circles. He suddenly realised that Thor would know. Thor understood Midgardians better now than any of the Asgardians had before. For a second, his heart ached to have his older not brother by his side. Nothing could harm them or stand in their way then! Then he remembered that he wasn't a little boy anymore and violently shook his head, cursing. His latest experiences made him soft!

"Ah, this is new…"

With a jolt, Loki came to his senses properly and found that they'd arrived in the main chamber. Now that there was light on the situation, the Doctor discovered a hole covering a small network of tunnels behind the ritual carvings.

"So, who wants to go first?" asked the Doctor brightly and saw three pairs of eyes giving him dirty looks. "Fine, fine! Can't have a good joke nowadays."

They shuffled, slightly bent over, into the tunnels, warily keeping their eyes and ears open for any unusual sounds or sights. Bob swung his gun back and forth, the flashlight mounted on top bobbing through the murk and it hurt Loki's eyes after a while. The Jotun became tense, constantly stiffening at every shadow. Suddenly, hissing sounded from ahead and everyone froze like rabbits in front of a fox.

"We've found their nest." Doctor breathed, holding up a hand so nobody walked past him.

Loki sucked in an inaudible breath. A nest of them? There couldn't have been only one or two for them to deal with? A band of iron panic clenched over his lungs and he forced himself to try and breathe properly. He had the urge to click his fingers and make fire appear to ready for an attack, but the Doctor's warning served as a reminder and stopped him at the last second. Instead he contented himself by rubbing the pads of his gloved index finger and thumb together.

"Should we just shoot the bastards?" Terry grunted out, eyes locked on the gloom ahead.

"No-no, not yet. We can sneak past, I think."

Bob and Terry gave him an incredulous glance.

"I don't think that's wise, sir. They've probably already heard us." Bob pointed out, dull brown eyes narrowed under his infra-red glasses.

As if answering him, a clicking noise emerged and the death rattle rolled over the group. Loki's legs shook immediately and he was angry at the giveaway of his fear, but he didn't feel the instinct to run like last time. The Doctor had been right about that apparently.

"Just move slowly to that entrance on the left." The Doctor intoned carefully, eyes fixed on the creature crawling in that horrible manner towards them. "Loki, you need to go first."

Loki opened his mouth to protest, closing his grass green eyes to protect his mind from the nightmare.

"Go now!"

Terry put a hand on Loki's back and pushed him roughly headfirst into the new hole, Bob shooting down the creature without thinking as it dove for the Doctor's neck.

"Now you've done it!" The Doctor shouted as more death rattles gathered around them and Loki repressed putting a hand over his mouth, swallowing the whimper back down his throat. "They'll be following us!"

Bob stared the others firmly in the eye.

"Not if I can help it."

It took moments for them to figure it what he was implying.

"No! No no no! I – you can't!" Doctor cried, his face falling in devastation. "Don't you dare! Come with us, you can make it! They're not that fast -!"

"GO!" Bob snapped, the first of the things appearing round the corner. "I got us into this mess! I get that they're after your friend. He's defenceless – I'm not."

The former Prince gasped a bit. Why was this human, who he barely knew, willingly sacrificing himself? What was the point? And did he really consider HIM unable to fend for himself?

"Hey, Terry."

Terry's face was stoic and his voice respectful as he answered.

"Yeah, Bub?"

"Tell my wife and kids they're an amazing family. Tell them they'll be okay without me, that they HAVE to be okay without me. Let them know I wasn't scared when I left – that I didn't want to leave, but had no choice, alright? You'd better get that message to them, or I'll haunt you until your death!"

Despite the situation, Terry laughed and saluted as best as he could manage in the cramped space.

"I will, Bob. You give those things hell!"

The first creature leapt forward and Bob shot it down without flinching.

"GO NOW!"

The Doctor's face…Loki couldn't describe it. It was the face of a man who had seen this before, yet begged for a different outcome every time. It screamed of heartbreak and the younger brother of Thor felt his heart jerk in slight sympathy, but he did not know why. The gunshots banged loudly and Loki couldn't figure out when this tunnel had turned into a miniature war zone.

Terry shoved him forwards again and the three huddled and scraped their way to what was turning out to be a molten pit as fast as possible, tuning out the crunch of teeth against neck muscle finally.

The gunshots rang out no longer.

The heat threw Loki again instantly and he panted for air as he fell face first out of the tunnel, landing in hot sand. The other security guard jumped down lightly beside him and hauled him up as the Doctor gingerly made his way down to the floor, his coat snagging on red rock.

"Hey, you don't look so hot." Terry noticed with no expression and Loki rolled his eyes as he struggled away.

"I am fine."

"Don't mind him, he's the clumsiest intern I've had!" Doctor's voice echoed behind them, a cheerful grin plastered on his face once more.

Was the care for Bob a façade then?

Sweat beaded on Loki's brow and he stubbornly ignored it, gaze travelling to the lava pool in front of them.

"Doctor, what is this?"

The lava rumbled and quaked, a massive form rising from it like a grotesque phoenix.

"We've found their god, Loki." Doctor murmured softly from his right hand side and Loki had no idea whether they would see daylight again.

* * *

Welp, there it is! The second to final chapter for this arc and they might be in for the battle of their lives. How will Loki and the Doctor cope?

Love Lily. X


	10. Chapter 10

Drums of Asgard.

Chickpeas and fuzzbuckets, here is the final chapter of this arc. I hope it is as epic as I envisioned in my head.

* * *

Murder on Mercury: Part Six.

It was nothing short of monstrous.

It reached the ceiling and looked like it was going to crack through at any moment. The skin was dry and blistering, weeping a strange black substance that smelt foul and like dying birds (Loki remembered the fall of the Great Eagles of the Western Mountains of Asgard and shuddered at the feathers downward spiralling in his mind). Horns that curled upwards looked like they could impale a thousand men at once and gnarled claws scratched through the dirt as festering yellow eyes made contact with the three men. It was something that not even Odin could have dreamt of conjuring up.

The Doctor stepped forward, bold as ever.

"Oh, so YOU'RE the one getting all the goodies!" he said loudly, drawing the monster's attention towards him.

Loki's magic shone brightly inside his chest and spiralled down his arms as green flames. He had to be ready for an attack…surely the Doctor didn't think he could talk such a beast down?

"Look at you, so big, so tall in your little pit. What are you doing down here then, huh?"

The guard beside Loki was clearly stunned. Was he TRYING to aggravate the possible Devil? The beast growled lowly and Loki considered that it could potentially understand human speech. That made the situation scarier than it had been five seconds ago in his eyes.

"You can't get out of here, can you? You're too weak right now, too pathetic! That's why they were made into your slaves, so that you could start harvesting enough energy to rampage freely, weren't they?!"

The monster screamed in his face but the Doctor remained unmoving, his face a sad stone.

"But you went mad for you couldn't be contained down here for so long…you couldn't wait all alone like this with your mind."

The thing roared loudly, shattering a few dozen rocks beside it. Loki flinched at the noise and his green fire flared, attracting the attention of the creature. The Doctor noticed this lapse of attention to him and called it back into focus.

"And if you receive Loki in sacrifice, then he would complete you, wouldn't he? You'd be more than powerful enough to start your "conquest"! Well, you forgot about someone."

The creature stirred even more, seemingly enraged at the Time Lord's arrogance.

"You forgot about me," said the Doctor in a low, dangerous tone and suddenly, Loki was reminded Thor when he was angry and how the thunder rolled over his head right before he was about to strike. "You probably never knew me from the beginning, but you REALLY should have. You should have done your research before trying something like this. The Daleks tried, the Cybermen tried and so did the Sontarans. You know what they all have in common?"

The large animal appeared to be confused, pausing in its anger as the Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver high above his head.

"They lost." He intoned gravely and the screwdriver emitted a pulse of thrumming energy that spread throughout the cavern, rattling the infrastructure and their very bones. Loki thrust out a hand and green fire hit the monster's face, making it stumble backwards and shriek.

"RUN BACK NOW!" the Doctor yelled, pushing the guard in front of him. "The whole place is going to come down and bury it forever! It will NEVER touch anyone innocent ever again!"

The former prince sent one last fireball at the thing's face and darted over, throwing himself up the rocks and into the exit. The Doctor took a glance back.

"You'll be alone even in death."

And then he was running up the tunnel too and all they could hear was the shrieks and anger of the supposed god as it was crushed by its prison and sanctuary all at once. Dust billowed in their faces and made them cough and Ted spat out some of it, giving a shocked laugh.

"This is nuts!" he cried above the outrageous noise.

It sounded like the very gods of Greek myth themselves were after their blood and Loki's heart thrummed in panic as the trio ran for their lives. He didn't want to be buried in forgotten memories to be forgotten himself! He wasn't like the human and Gallifreyan! He would probably survive the initial collapse and be left to wander the rubble and madness until he succumbed to insanity himself and - !

"Look, there's the entrance!"

He really needed to stop being on autopilot.

As the earth itself fell inwards, the three men staggered through the doorway to freedom and watched history crumble until there was nothing left.

"I have NO idea how we survived that!" whispered Ted, his face ashen.

* * *

Dr Lee was understandably upset.

"It was the only way available, Dr Lee, I'm sorry." The Doctor stood by the desk with a solemn air once more and Dr Lee slammed both hands on the desk.

"What the hell am I going to do now? I have to go back to Earth and tell the superiors and the government that the project was a failure because pest control got a little out of hand and whoops, they blew up the Pyramids! PLEASE FORGIVE US!" His face coloured into a nice shade of brick red and Loki suppressed a chuckle.

"That creature would never have been brought by my gun, sir," Ted spoke up from behind, a surprise entry into the conversation. "Bob died because of that thing's power. I'm glad we did what we did and if you get angry about that too, then go ahead and fire me! I need to deliver a message to Bob's wife and kids anyway."

The two humans had a stare down and the two outsiders watched in mild admiration.

"I'll handle the paperwork, just…get out, the lot of you. If I see you again, it'll be too soon." Emitted Dr Lee at last and Ted slipped out past Loki into the hallway while the Doctor gave a cheerful and wave.

"Nice working with you!" he lilted and swept out with Loki trailing behind him, ignoring the flabbergasted Dr Lee as he fell into his chair and put his head in his hands.

"What am I going to do now?"

Something fluttered to the ground, dislodged by his left hand and the professor picked it up. He read it carefully before looking back up at the doorway with a small smile.

"Thank you."

* * *

"So, we are just going to leave behind a big mess for the humans to clean up? I like that idea." Loki snickered as the two got into the TARDIS once more.

"Oh no!" the Doctor retorted brightly as he moved to the console, every footstep exuberant and reenergised now that the latest adventure had reached a satisfactory conclusion. "I left a message from the Shadow Proclamation. His job will be safe and everything should be running smoothly again on Mercury soon."

"You really do think of everything." Loki acknowledged as the Doctor punched in a few co-ordinates.

"Where do you wanna go next? There are so many things to do and see!" the Doctor burst out, eyes excited like a child's.

Loki shrugged. He didn't know the universe like this Gallifreyan did.

"Did that creature have a name?"

The Doctor stopped, lifting his head.

"What?"

Loki stared resolutely out the window, not wanting his expression to be spotted right now.

"Did that thing have a name? Do you know of it?"

"Still curious about the Mercurians, huh? Well, yes, it did actually."

Loki watched the Doctor carefully as the man walked about the room.

"What was it?"

The Doctor leant in to stare at some fuzzy satellite pictures on a channel, waving his hands casually.

"Oh, Ragnarok. Some vague meaning to its name somewhere."

All he got in return was silence as Loki fought to keep breathing amongst the shock and awful realisation trickling down through his heart.

* * *

I did not expect to have such an idea at the end like that. I hope enough of you know Norse Mythology well enough to understand the significance of the ending there, but if you didn't, I can explain next chapter if you like. Onwards and upwards!

Love Lily. X


	11. Chapter 11

Drums of Asgard.

So, thanks to all the great reviews so far! There were a few who were confused about the ending so here is the synopsis:

Loki in Norse Mythology was supposed to bring about Ragnarok because of his rather…unusual children. They were banished in many ways by Odin (who is Loki's brother in myth) and Loki himself was tied up with intestines and had snake venom dripped into his eyes and on his forehead. Ragnarok is another way of saying the Apocalypse and I thought…why does Ragnarok have to be just an event? What if it was a monster of some sort as well? So, in this universe of mine, Ragnorok was mentioned in a prophecy, but it never mentioned who or when it would come to pass.

So the Doctor unknowingly stopped Ragnarok from happening and Loki realised that he could have started the whole thing off, if the Doctor hadn't stopped him from being used as a sacrifice.

Punch to the gut indeed, Time Lady.

Hopefully, that's cleared up a few things for people.

On to the next adventure, Time Lords and Ladies of Myth!

* * *

Onwards!

The Doctor didn't see Loki for a few hours after that conversation and he guessed that the former Asgardian was in the library, delving back into his own little world. Nothing wrong with that, but the brown-haired Time Lord had a feeling not all was well. However, it would probably do no good confronting the smaller companion because he would just draw up all his defences and refuse to let him past, as he had done a few times already.

The silence that sat over them after the Doctor revealed the name of the creature had been heavy with frozen realisation and that meant Loki was a little too familiar with the name. The Doctor knew about having demons and right now, he would be more useful tinkering with his lovely blue box than bothering Loki.

But he was worried about him.

Loki was more powerful, yet kind and gentle than he realised. The fact that the young god had no self-esteem whatsoever troubled the good Doctor, for he saw all of the potential within. How had he turned out like this and who made him feel inadequate? He scowled briefly as he fiddled with a loose piece of copper wiring under the console in remembrance of the Asgardian race. Most of them were loud and self-important, not willing to accept differences within their own kind. No wonder Loki acted so cold and stand-offish. The Doctor was willing to bet that Loki acted very differently to his fellow people and the thought of a rebellious child with black hair running around the streets and the royal halls of Asgard filled him with warmth and brought out a grin.

Yes, he knew about Loki's princely status. He had met Odin once in negotiations with the Gallifreyan council and had watched from behind his father's armoured back as the two young princes, one bold and curious and the other shy and inquisitive (he hid beneath his mother's skirts) interacted and absorbed the goings on in front of them. From the pompous air of Odin and the Asgardian council, the Doctor had come away with a negative view of Asgard in general, not counting the children and Allmother.

Sighing and pushing away memories of old, the Doctor stood from his little mechanical nest on the floor. The exposed insides of the TARDIS were closed up, so she wouldn't be accidentally kicked by one of them during travels and the tall humanoid decided it was finally time to check the library and have a quiet chat with Loki himself.

Hopefully, there wouldn't be any temper tantrums.

* * *

Loki curled up in a squishy chair after putting back a book entitled "Alice in Wonderland". He enjoyed that one, for its logic had been slightly harder to figure out and when he finally did, he felt proud of himself. The whimsical feel to the writing drew him back into childhood and the colourful drawings sparked his imagination. Now he was starting to read "The Art of War".

The library itself held no logic in the way its books were organised – or rather, the lack of organisation. Books that were fiction lay contently next to non-fiction books and alphabetical order had apparently never been heard of. But Loki loved it anyway. The smell of old and new books by a crackling wood fire gave a feeling of comfort and safety and the sheer size of the place meant that he could hide wherever he wished and not be discovered. The old mahogany shelves were lined with colourful rows upon colourful rows of books from nearly every point in history and he would be here for weeks if he wanted to read every single one.

Which he did.

Right at this moment, Loki wanted to lock himself away from the world for a very long time. He needed to read and get away from reality because he couldn't cope with it anymore. After all, did not one read for escape and rest? Didn't people all over the universe sit and read because if they didn't, the real world and its many troubles would overrun their minds and send them into insanity? The Jotun shook his head and curled in a little more, pushing himself into the welcoming softness of the chair – a replacement for Frigga's many cuddles.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the vastness of the great library and Loki gave a huff of dismay, electing to ignore the interruption. With luck, the Doctor would not find him and leave him be.

Luck was never on his side.

"Ah, there you are!"

The dark haired companion refused to acknowledge the time traveller, keeping his eyes glued to the red book.

"Wow, you ARE having fun! Look at that pile of books! That's even more than I have scattered around me usually."

Loki still replied with nothing and the Doctor craned his head over to look at the title.

"Ooo, the Art of War! Sun Tzu wrote that, you know. An honourable man, but a bit weird with animals and boats."

The Doctor perched himself in a chair opposite his companion and regarded him carefully.

"Hey Loki, I know you're listening," he insisted, watching Loki turn a page carefully. "As we're travelling together, I don't want us to feel uncomfortable around each other. And we can't hide from each other either."

That got the god's attention and his eyes flicked upwards for a second in confusion before quickly peering down at the page again. Doctor smiled at the attempt to be nonchalant.

"There's something wrong and I, being nosy and all, want to know what it is. If it's too personal, I understand, but…well, I like having you around."

Loki stiffened and the Doctor took that as a sign to continue.

"Anything that troubles you troubles me too. So, er, wanna talk about it?"

The emerald garbed man withdrew away from him, green orbs flickering off to the side in submissiveness. Conflict stirred violently inside him and he didn't know how to approach this situation. Not many people back ho – on Asgard directly confronted him about his feelings like this. Most of the time, they didn't even realise anything was amiss and these were supposed friends and family! The Doctor was technically a stranger and he had noticed what they never did.

Loki finally glowered up at the man grinning foolishly at him and put down the book after glancing furtively both ways.

"If you speak of this to anyone, I will gut you." He promised and the Doctor nodded, mining zipping his lip.

"Cross my heart and hope to die!" he said cheerfully.

"Er…what?" Loki blurted, taken off guard. Why would anyone hope to die?

Then again, who on Midgard was he to talk?

**_Hypocrite!_ **sang a voice inside him and he ignored it.

"It's an Earth saying, meaning I won't tell anyone ever." The Doctor laughed and Loki felt silly for a second, which just made him glare at the Time Lord even more.

"A long time ago, my father was given a prophecy by one of the wandering Dark Elf Mages. It foretold of a time when a great battle for all of the Nine Realms would occur and it was to be called Ragnarok."

The Doctor started and Loki gave a tiny smile.

"Yes, that thing. And it appears that it was I who would have released such an apocalypse."

He tore his eyes away from the surprised face in front of him to the ground.

"I would have killed my father and possibly erased all of Asgard and beyond."

He tried to sound dispassionate, really he did, but his voice caught and the Doctor extended an arm to rest on his shoulder, caring and reassuring.

"Look Loki, you didn't KNOW. How could you? And we stopped it, didn't we? We defeated Ragnarok and you helped me bury him forever! Your dad would be very proud, I bet, eh?"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say for Loki gave out a bitter laugh and jumped up abruptly from his chair.

"How rich!" he murmured, staring without seeing into the flames of the fire. "That one such as I could inspire pride in someone!"

And with that, he stormed out of the room, leaving the Doctor nonplussed and understanding all at once.

* * *

"I…apologise for my outburst earlier."

The Gallifreyan's messy head bobbed up in pleasure, happy that his companion seemed a bit better.

"Ah, it's alright. We all have stuff that bothers us now and again!"

Loki didn't bother to correct him.

"Where are we going now? I felt a disturbance and thought we were moving." He implied and the Doctor flashed a beaming grin.

"We are! We're going onwards, my friend! Allon-sy!"

And with that, they spun into time and space once more.

* * *

Welp, just a bit of filler this time, I'm afraid. More action will come up next chapter! I do like listening to music as I write this and I have actually been listening to the soundtracks from Skyrim, Avengers, Thor, Doctor Who and Sherlock (even though I don't watch that last show) for this story! They fit well, especially Onwards! at the scenes of the Doctor's triumph.

Love Lily. X


	12. Chapter 12

Drums of Asgard.

Alrighty, here is the next chapter and in the light of Thor 2's trailer…

This movie is going to be excellent and has provided me with more material than I could have dreamed of already!

All credit for this next chapter arc goes to the fabulous The Ninth Doctor, here on FF and alexandrefelixdarnay on Tumblr. She is so wonderful and loyal!

Please enjoy.

* * *

Green.

It had been a month since Thor came back to Asgard with the news of fairly good tidings for his loving parents. Frigga cried with mixed joy and sorrow at Loki's misadventures and Odin demanded that Heimdall keep an eye on Loki at all times, only to be told that something blocked him from seeing Loki's present condition. The remnants of the royal family could only hope Loki was not in too much danger and was well.

Thor finished strapping on Mjolnir to his hip and stared out of the window, lost in contemplation. Things had been quiet as of late and while Thor was glad for the rest after the Battle for Earth, it felt somewhat…wrong for him not to be defending or doing much of anything. He wasn't a scholar like Loki and he wasn't patient or content like the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.

Little did he know of the darkness to come.

* * *

"Would you look at that, Loki? The planet of Terra in the middle of the Regal Moon galaxy! Course, it's abandoned now, thanks to the Cybermen trashing the place, but it's still interesting to explore."

Loki peeked through the open double doors in scepticism, staring at the whirling clouds of the green planet below.

"What kind of planet is that then? Another desert?"

"No no, it's full of plants!"

That got Loki's interest going, for he loved nature of any kind. He resolved to bring one of the library's sketch books along so he perhaps might be able to draw in relative peace and comfort. The Doctor got a glimpse of the tiny smile gracing his pale features and felt satisfaction once more because he had drawn his shy companion out of his shell, even if only for a second.

"Right then, prepare for landing!"

The whole craft shook and Loki fell rather ungracefully on to his behind, causing the Time Lord to burst into sniggers at the comical "o" his mouth made.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one who has done that." He chuckled as the frost giant narrowed his eyes in contempt.

The TARDIS settled on solid ground with her usual fanfare and the Doctor practically skipped to the doors.

"Are you ready then?"

"I suppose." Loki muttered sullenly and dug out a sketchbook, holding it close to his chest as they opened the door to sunlight and leaves.

The air here in Terra was humid and warm, not hot and dry like Mercury. Either way, it was still slightly uncomfortable for the god, who flinched as soon as he stepped outside. But he forgot about the oppressive temperature the moment he took a proper look at his new environment, which made his verdant orbs widen in awe.

Vines crept up massive trunks of towering trees, shielding the forest floor from the harsh rays of the golden sun. This in turn created an apple-green mottled effect on the ground and Loki saw the shadows of leaves move gently in concordance with the breeze that seemed to be a constant presence. The air was sweetly perfumed with what appeared to be jasmine and vanilla, a scent that they found pleasant and not overwhelming, and the mossy carpet of the rainforest floor was dotted with different coloured flowers, which were overshadowed by vast leaves that spanned the size of Fire Giants twice over. Loki crept forward, having tuned out the Doctor during his little observation and reverently touched a cupped leaf, sending a trickle of water down his bare arm. He'd opted to wear just his cream tunic and brown leggings and this had been a wise choice in hindsight, thanks to the tropical climate.

In short, Loki was falling in love with the planet.

The Doctor watched over the fallen god with an almost brotherly air as he pattered carefully away from him, trying to keep him in his line of sight. The planet might be abandoned by beings capable of human function, but there were plenty of strange and dangerous creatures that could quite happily eat both of them if they were hungry enough.

But to see him so pleased…

The former Asgardian, on the other hand, had no such reservations. He was too entranced by the surroundings, feeling calm and happy for once. Nobody could disturb him here! Nobody could threaten him or plead with him to come home! He didn't have to fear being discovered or tortured down here! His delighted gaze slid back to the Time Lord standing around with a childish grin and gratitude stirred properly inside him for the first time in weeks. With a whispered word of thanks, he slid off into the shadows and greenery to find a place to sketch. Maybe, with luck, the Doctor would receive a picture once he was finished.

And so, peace descended over the two for a time. Loki found a log to sit on and his pale neck almost reflected the light as it bent over his work. The Doctor stared at him for a while, drawn to the lines he created on the clean paper, that took shape into flowers, trees and -!

Oh. He'd drawn Asgard amongst nature's finery as well.

He must miss it in some way, the pinstriped suited man thought sadly, thinking longingly of his own home that no longer was. Shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts, the Doctor withdrew his screwdriver and decided to take a little trek, promising himself he wouldn't be gone too long.

"I'll be back in a minute or two!" he called to Loki, who just gave a half shrug, not really paying attention.

The Gallifreyan wove through the undergrowth, sonic screwdriver whirring every now and then to give him new information that his brain absorbed willingly like a sponge. He hadn't been to Terra before, so this was as new for him as it was his god-like companion. The only knowledge he wielded was second hand. Speaking of his companion, he supposed he better go back and check that the man hadn't wandered off even further.

He definitely wasn't expecting to return to an empty clearing and no Loki in sight. Nor was he prepared for the vision of the sketchbook and pencil lying rumpled on the ground and a tiny drop of blood on the log once sat on. The flattened grass and used dart ended his unhappy investigation.

Loki had been taken.

It looked like Terra was inhabited after all.

* * *

Uh oh…this means the start to our new arc. Where could Loki have possibly been taken to?

You'll see.

Love Lily. X


	13. Chapter 13

Drums of Asgard.

Thanks for all the reviews so far! They are very much welcomed. I shall continue onwards now and we'll see how Loki gets out of this one!

* * *

Green: Part 2.

His brain pounded against his skull as he came round slowly, the world around him foggy and tinged green. It felt like his entire body was melting and sticking to the floor and Loki could barely remember what happened or where he was. His body twitched of its own accord and aches made themselves known. Opening his eyes fully, Loki realised he was still on Terra, but without the Doctor to act as his guide, and this made him huff a little in annoyance. Could that man not wander away for five seconds?

What happened to him? Who had attacked him without his guard being raised?

Barely anyone could sneak up on Loki. Even Hogun, a warrior renowned for his stealth, failed every time.

It was too hot and his thoughts were sluggish, his limbs awkward and uncooperative. He panted for cooler air that wasn't available and a prod startled him out of his daze. The tanned face swam into focus and the frost giant pulled up the corner of his lip in a half-hearted snarl, a vague attempt at warning this person to leave him alone. The face withdrew again and Loki closed his heavy eyes.

* * *

The Doctor cursed to himself in Gallifreyan as he trekked through the vast space. He was following Loki's signature based on his blood and so far, the tall man could only follow the trail and hope he would see a sign of the Asgardian soon. Strange flies, about the size of a golf ball, hovered near his face, huge eyes staring at him under some stray bits of white fur. All eight of them blinked rapidly in time with its translucent wings and he thought that it looked quite cute.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have seen a pale, green guy, would ya, little fella?" he asked with a chuckle and the round fly gave a high pitched squeak in response before zipping out of sight. "Ah well, can't say I didn't ask the locals."

A branch cracked like a whip in the distance and his whole body tensed, stopping his progress. Someone was watching him, possibly using any moment of distraction to catch him by surprise. The Doctor took a cautious step forward and something crashed out of the trees, pointing a spear in his face with an angry grunt.

"Whoa whoa!" he cried, backing away with both hands raised in the air. "I'm not here to hurt anyone…see? I'm putting my screwdriver away, so no need to panic. We're good, yeah?"

The native man, for that was clearly the case, lowered his spear a little, suspicion hard in his eyes. The Doctor couldn't believe that there were people living here after all. Surely they'd all been cleaned out by the Cybermen?

"Who are you?"

The hoarse voice poked into his stream of thought and his brown hair flopped as he glanced up, an easy smile on his face.

"Hi, my name is the Doctor! I'm looking for a friend who came with me to visit your lovely planet! Have you seen him? I'm a bit worried he's been eaten or something."

Small lines of humour appeared in the skin of the man's leathery face and he relaxed his hold on the spear completely.

"We did not think he was the only white man here. He is with us, alive and under our arrest."

"You ARRESTED him? Blimey, what for? He didn't try to burn down any trees, did he?"

The warrior snorted, turning his back to start leading him through more undergrowth.

"No, we are wary of invaders. Since men that shone like cold gold came and killed many of our people, we have hardened our hearts to strangers."

The Doctor felt sorry for these natives. He knew the emotionless cruelty of the Cybermen from first-hand experience and he shuddered at the possible atrocities committed on Terra.

"Look, I am really sorry to hear that. I've heard of those metal men and I know what they can do. But we're not here to hurt anyone. It was more of a history lesson for my friend than anything else."

Without meeting his gaze, the tribal man carried on with that steady gait of his.

"You will stay until we trust you."

The Gallifreyan sighed. He knew what that meant.

Now they were BOTH under arrest.

* * *

A slightly cooler touch to his brow helped his eyes flicker open once more. An earthy brown material shifted above him and a single name floated through his sludge-like mind in relief.

**Doctor…**

"Hey Loki, I'm sorry, bud. You don't look very well."

Loki buried his head into his guide's torso and the Doctor frowned at the surrounding tribe.

"How long has he been like this? What did you do?"

"He received no sickness from us."

They parted for a wizened, little old woman and a wrinkled, little old man, both thumping staffs adorned with colours and tribal carvings. Gold and silver beads were threaded through their long silver hair, different to the blue and red beads of the others.

"Your friend is imbued with the heat of our forest. He cannot cope with it."

The Time Lord didn't understand. Loki was an Asgardian and they never seemed to get like this under pressuring heat. Why was Loki so ill? A faint touch to his hand brought his lament back to Loki, who trembled with fever and struggled for air. They had moved him to shade, but it wasn't helping.

"I…"

His friend had no strength to speak so the Doctor patted his cheek in sympathy.

"We'll make you better, Loki, I swear." He promised and the lost Prince of Asgard lay his head back in his lap, the veins in his eyelids standing out amongst the sheen on his milky skin.

"…'kay."

The two elders squatted beside the outsiders and waved their hands in small gestures.

"We will ask the spirits to guide his path to healing. In the meantime, you will talk with us."

The Doctor stared quizzically at them both and said;

"Who are you?"

They smiled in wisdom befitting their sanctions.

"We are the tribal shamans. We speak to the spirits of the air and sun, earth and water. We commune with our ancestors and hear their messages from the gods. Our Sun God gave a name long ago to fit our golden temples and skin. We are the Aztecs."

All words failed him.

* * *

Ta daaah! A new chapter finally! Sorry for the wait! I imagine them speaking in short sentences because they're not overly eloquent like us. They were probably simple yet wise and mature and I tried to convey that here.

Love Lily. X


	14. Chapter 14

Drums of Asgard.

Hello, one and all! It is the dawning of part three of Green and the Doctor may have to face a fact he didn't even know existed.

By the way…who would love to see a live action version of this with Tom Hiddleston and David Tennant? Because Lord knows I would.

* * *

Green: Part Three.

The Doctor knelt there in stunned silence.

The Aztecs were humans. They'd been an ancient human civilisation that had perished long ago due to the interference of the Western world! He'd never known any other galactic race to bear the name.

…What was this?

"That…sounds very familiar to a race on Earth." He intoned carefully, watching their reactions.

He was given a sad smile from the old woman as she and her partner sat down on the loamy earth, crossing their legs and planting their staffs deep into the ground.

"Yes, Earth was good to us, while it lasted. When the men in metal came, they killed many of us and destroyed what was once beautiful. Our ancestors saw no option but to leave, to escape the massacre."

The Doctor felt sorrow in his chest for these peaceful natives. He understood the personal cost of war all too well.

"We made our new home on Earth and, for many years, all was well. Our crops prospered, our mages saw many things to come and we left our mark on the rocks." The old man continued, placing a hand on the woman's knee. "But then men with skin whiter than the moon discovered our lands, discovered the gold and silver."

The Doctor felt sick, because he knew what humanity was like, especially the Western world. Loki stirred in his lap, drops of sweat beading in the hairs closest to his forehead.

"They took and took, not caring what happened to us. Many of our children were lost to us, taken to become what they called "slaves". In a way, it was worse than the beginning, so we left once more and came back to the one planet that had our hearts. It was empty and almost desolate, but under our capable hands, it thrives once more!"

With a stroke of his hand, the Gallifreyan soothed the restless tossing of his companion and the former Prince grew still again.

"It seems like you've had a happy ending after all!" he said cheerfully, trying to keep out the foreboding in his tone.

"We are not sure. Recently, our warriors discovered the remnants of our enemy. They lie on the ground, unmoving." The woman shuddered, her eyes glassy. "We fear them."

No, it couldn't be that easy, could it?

The Doctor grimaced, knowing how sly the Cybermen were, figuratively speaking. Their emotions had gone long ago and, due to Loki's recent tumble, didn't want them anywhere near him. Loki wouldn't be strong enough to face such dangers right now. But he couldn't just leave these poor Aztecs to deal with what would possibly be another invasion, no matter how small.

"I've dealt with these metal men before," he answered at length, staring down the two elders. "If you help me with my friend here, I'll go and see if they're a threat to you. I can get rid of them for you."

The people gathered looked sceptical at his words and the Doctor looked deeply at them all with eyes that were young, yet older than the Earth's moon at the same time. Dark brown eyes that had seen too many things and yet not enough closed.

"I'm the Doctor and I've done this hundreds of times. They keep coming back because they're stubborn like that. But they're not me. They are NOT as stubborn as me and never will be."

A silence reigned for a moment and forest green eyes flickered open and closed, wandering unseeingly upwards to the sky. The Time Lord glanced downwards, his eyes visibly softening at the glazed innocence.

"You're going to be fine, you hear me? Fine."

Loki gave no reply, unable to hear the man who had spirited him away through the spinning void that he fell through.

_**"Father, can you help with this spell?"**_

_**Odin looked up from his parchment at his youngest son, small and willowy in stature, but none the less beautiful in his eye.**_

_**"What spell, my son?" he asked, smiling fondly as he set down his quill.**_

_**"I keep having trouble with lighting this candle!" huffed Loki, holding up said white candle with a pout that made Odin chuckle and go over to kneel by his son.**_

_**"Have patience, my child. You are moving very quickly with your studies and are more advanced than Frigga and I ever were with magic at your age."**_

_**Loki's eyes widened in wonder, green orbs reflecting his father's face.**_

_**"Really? Even better than you? But you are the Allfather!"**_

_**Odin laughed again and cupped his son's hands together, trapping the candle holder in their warmth.**_

_**"Think about the flame. Lose yourself in the glow and see the wick spark in your mind's eye."**_

_**Loki's eyes closed and the wick began to glow a hot red as a tiny flame wriggled its way desperately upwards, trying to find its hold.**_

_**"Tell that flame that its home is the candle and that it will always be welcome there. That way, the fire will be more inclined to do your bidding. Magic cannot be forced or tamed, but it can be reasoned with and befriended."**_

_**The candle flame wavered for a moment before suddenly bursting forth into light and Odin put a hand on his shoulder.**_

_**"Look, you did it."**_

_**Loki opened his eyes and gasped in delight.**_

_**"I did it, father! Thank you!"**_

_**He threw himself into Odin's arms (after placing the candle on the desk) and Odin wrapped him in a big bear hug, the rumbling of warm laughter echoing through Loki's chest.**_

Loki's eyes rolled open for a minute to find the blurred Doctor leaning over him.

"I'll be back for you, Loki. I'm going to find a way to bring down your fever."

And the former Prince believed him, strange as it was. Oblivion washed over him like the waves in the storming ocean once more.

The Doctor stood up and stared at the little group of warriors assigned to accompany him to the Cyberman resting site.

"I guess we're off then!"

The elders and healers waved them away, turning back to the feverish Jotun the second the men were gone from sight.

The band of men picked their way towards metal and madness, armed to the teeth and unsure about what would happen.

* * *

The action will come next chapter, so hopefully this will tide you over until then!

Love Lily. X


	15. Chapter 15

Drums of Asgard.

Hi there, doodlepoppers and wizardsnappers! I'm back with actual action this time!

Huzzah!

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or the Avengers.

* * *

Green: Part 4.

There wasn't much conversation going on as the small group made their way through forest and eventually over slightly rougher, emptier terrain towards the Cybermen site. It made the Doctor restless, for talking often helped him relieve his excess energy and stopped him from getting too bored. Right now, talking would stop him from dwelling on Loki's current condition as well.

"Is – Is this site much further?" he inquired almost hesitantly and the tallest guide looked back.

"No."

And that was all he got. Alrighty then.

Why though? Why were the Cybermen here again? Every time he thought he may have finally vanquished the lot of them, they turned up in a new world, a different time, ready to begin the blood soaked cycle anew.

Even time itself couldn't prevent them from slipping through the cracks.

"We're here."

A hushed whisper stopped all of them in their tracks and the suited man crouched with the warriors as they stole towards a hiding spot to peer out from. The scene before them spoke of desolation and of waiting, of cracked metal torn from battle and shutting off from the universe at will. The blackened soil spoke of emotionless murder and the piled glint of silver suggested orders that were followed through to the bitter end. Vines crept upwards and pulled them into the roots of the earth, destined to be nothing more than a disastrous memory, a blight upon history.

It screamed abandonment.

The tenth reincarnation of the Doctor knew better.

"Here's what I'm going to do," he said in a low tone, catching the attention of the group. "I'm going to approach the area and scout around, see if I can find anything that might be useful. You will ALL stay here. I'll signal if I need you."

"How will we tell?" asked a nearby spearman. "Shouldn't one of us go with you?"

The Doctor gritted his teeth as he conceded that the man had a point. He wasn't well versed in Aztec customs and body language, especially not in a potentially dangerous situation, yet the memory of Mercury was still fresh in his mind and he really didn't want another Bob.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to tell!" he joked and clambered over the side of their observational spot before anyone could protest.

Ignoring the palpable anxiety coming from the warriors, the Gallifreyan trekked his way to the ten Cybermen lying broken on the ground. No light was present in their bodies and not even a twitch occurred when he poked them. With a huff, Doctor drew out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan, letting the whirr of the tip soothe his slight nerves. For seven minutes exactly, there was an uneasy calm as the Doctor investigated and analysed, absorbed in his work while being cautious about keeping the Cybermen inactive. A rustle in the bushes had one of the bulky warriors glancing up immediately, alert in posture like a gazelle at a waterhole. The Doctor continued to bend low to the ground, muttering under his breath as he read the statistics on his screwdriver. The rustling carried on and a scaled nose twitched its way through the leaves. One of the warriors immediately gave a yell and threw their spear at the creature, which looked like a raptor from the Jurassic period. The Time Lord gave a startled yelp and backed away hurriedly as the spear bounced off the scaly hide of the creature. The gills on the sides of its neck flexed outwards aggressively, making it look like it had a hood and four eyes narrowed in an unblinking gaze. Two men hefted their spears and ran towards it, shouting and whooping loudly to scare it into moving away and it hissed, showing off long white fangs that dripped with poison.

"You must go now!" A man with five braids called, grabbing the Doctor's pinstriped arm and pulling him away. "Raptors are fierce and clever. They will not rest if you keep taunting them with your scent!"

For a second, he agonised on the spot and the raptor managed to break through the wall of men and muscle, sniffing around and lashing out at its attackers. That gave the Doctor the incentive he needed to run into the forest with his guide.

"We can't lead it back to the village!" he babbled desperately as they crashed through the trees and bushes, feeling the ground vibrate thanks to the pursuing raptor and the pack that had honed in on its call.

They heard other men shouting and the Doctor saw one of the spears impale a raptor, causing it to shriek and hit the floor in a tangled heap of limbs and blood and bone.

This was madness. All he'd wanted was to check out the Cybermen ruins!

"This way!"

His guide pelted through some fronds of weed and the Doctor slipped in between them, realising that he'd been led into a damp cave that shone like diamonds.

"Wow…" he uttered, placing his right foot forward. "What is this?"

There came no reply and he turned to spy the man putting a short finger to his pierced lip. Outside, two raptors sniffed their way around the area, and the fronds waved as they were brushed by the hunters. The two held their breath, unwilling to move and give away their position, but it was in vain, for the scales pushed past the flimsy cover and one stepped inside, the glow from the cave giving its eyes an eerie yellow sheen. They bared their teeth, excited by the prospect of flesh.

"May the spirits guide me to the afterlife." Prayed the warrior, hefting up his knife.

He never made the ill-fated charge, however, because both carnivores were blasted into fine dust by a green jet of light.

The Doctor started, his eyes like saucers as they alighted upon their unexpected saviour.

"Loki!"

The god's pupils were blown out of proportion and he swayed dangerously on his feet. Magic crackled in aquamarine and sapphire, emerald and white around his trembling hands and his face was drawn.

"I…I heard your voice." He murmured, pitching forward just in time for the warrior to catch him, total awe on his face.

"Loki, you were too far away, you're not supposed to be here!" the Doctor admonished quickly, crouching in front of the weaker one. "How did you -?"

"Your voice…" he breathed. "echoed in my head. You are so very loud."

Loki could read minds? What?

What was the extension of his power? His gifts that never stopped showing themselves?

His train of thought was broken by the Asgardian heaving, but nothing left his body.

"Easy, Loki, it's alright. You did a great thing, well done."

A timid smile flashed briefly his way, looking a little out of place on the normally proud face of the God of Mischief. Then, the three made their way back to the village, Loki leaning on both of them.

At the site of the Cybermen, a raptor nosed curiously amongst the rubble, a straggler to the hunt. It knocked a button into place and a new danger arose to complicate the day.

* * *

Okay, hopefully, the chapter after this one will be the last one of this arc.

See you soon!

Love Lily. X


	16. Chapter 16

Drums of Asgard.

Hi Whovians and Avengers! Welcome to another chapter of Drums of Asgard and this will be the conclusion to Green. The next chapter will see a new face joining the crew!

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Avengers.

* * *

Green: Part 5.

Loki was laid to rest under the shady tree once more, his face white with exhaustion. The magic usage had taken its toll on him and he was barely conscious. The Doctor had the mad urge to take Loki and run away in the TARDIS until he felt himself again, but he couldn't just leave these people to live in fear for the rest of their existence.

Unfortunately, his worst fears about the Cybermen were about to come true once again.

"They come, they come!" a warrior cried in panic, running into the centre and pointing towards the horizon, where clanking could be heard echoing towards them.

The Doctor looked down into the Asgardian's rolling green eyes and knew he couldn't let Loki stay here, not now.

"We should get the women and children away from here first," he said with an air of forced calm. "Then we'll stop this. I know I can disable them somehow!"

Some mothers were already gathering up their wide eyed children and the Gallifreyan touched the tanned, leathered skin of a passing healer before she could start organising the escape.

"Take him with you," he pleaded. "He's too weak to stay here."

A rasp of defiance tried to persuade him from Loki's end but they steadfastly ignored his argument.

"I would _never_ leave the sick." She replied almost haughtily and shouted to an elderly man who carefully helped Loki up, despite how much he shook and struggled (which was little).

"There is a blue box in the forest!" yelled the Doctor over everyone else. "Gather round there and DON'T MOVE!"

The new orders were passed around and the Doctor sadly saw Loki being nearly dragged away in the chaos, clearly reaching back for him and crying out his title.

"I'll come back, Loki!" he called to the royal, meeting his fever glazed eyes of terror with reassuring warm ones in return. "Just stay with the villagers – you're my last line of defence!"

It was a lot to ask of him, especially when he was boiling like lava, but he had no choice, not now that the Cybermen were back in the equation. He wouldn't let the young prince lay his gaze upon them, for he had enough monsters in past and present to contend with. These Aztecs had also suffered enough and he was going to make sure nobody died today!

Even if it cost him his own life.

Not that it mattered much if it did, thanks to his regenerations.

Still, it was probably prudent that he saved those for something devastatingly important, like the end of the universe (for the fifth time) or something.

As he glanced around at the gathered men and women that were left, he knew that it was no good trying to make them flee too at this point, for they would rather die themselves than become cowards in the eyes of their people.

"Okay, look, I'd rather you not be here at all," he began, sighing at the scowling faces. "But I know you'll override me somehow, so let's make this quick. I'm going into the thick of it to deactivate them at the source. If any of you want to accompany me, fine. The rest should stay here to act as the first line of protection."

The nodding and muttering amongst themselves seemed to indicate agreement and the Doctor was thankful for the lack of argument.

"Alright, I'm off."

Abruptly, he turned with a swish of his trench coat and made tracks towards the Cybermen, living up to his name of the Oncoming Storm as the aura around him was made of crackling lightning and steel. More pattering footsteps followed him as three men broke away from the group to escort him, clearly in awe of him.

* * *

Loki was slumped against the side of the TARDIS, his breathing shallow as he gazed dully at the bustling around him. The healer that had promised his protection carefully applied a cold cloth to his forehead and he closed his emerald orbs in spite of himself. Vaguely, he wondered how he could understand them as she whispered a word of encouragement into his ear and left for a moment to tend to a crying child with a cut on her little leg.

A flash of clear thinking alerted him to the fact that she'd left him alone. Now was his chance to bolt and go back to his warden – he could help the Doctor and be safe from their mothering because he was completely fine! He would run to the alien and…and…

And then what?

His brain fogged up in spurts as the God of Mischief lived up to his name and caused trouble by wobbling upright and disappearing silently into the cooler shadows of the leafy trees, stumbling back the way he came in stubborn determination.

The healer returned to see an empty space and she fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands, knowing that she'd just lost someone very important somehow. Why didn't he just stay where he was?!

The two Elders were going to rip her to shreds, if the Doctor didn't get angry first.

* * *

They crept round the robotic Cybermen as softly as they could manage. The emotionless droids were converged together a few feet away from what looked like their main supply, apparently talking, judging by their grating voices and lit up voice boxes. The Doctor stared avidly at the large battery in the middle and came to a conclusion.

"I bet that this big block is what's been keeping them alive for so long. If I destroy that, I'll take 'em all down and Bob's your uncle!"

It felt so simple in theory, but he couldn't just saunter out in front of them and blow up their supply.

…Or could he?

If he kept their attention long enough, he might just be able to draw their attention away from his actions. A grin threatened to split his face as he thought of the challenge ahead.

But he was ever so talented at talking. It was what saved him half the time – that and plain, dumb luck. The others could be his backup in case something went wrong (which it wouldn't) and they would be out of the way of any danger. He pivoted round and relayed his new idea to the three behind him. They were wary of these metal monsters and were happy enough to go along with this, preferring to think of it as scoping out the enemy.

The Doctor hurried into a bush and stepped out of it again, a broad smile on his face as he shook a few leaves from his messy hair.

"Ooo, look who we've got here!" he asserted, grabbing their blank stares immediately.

Time to be big and bold.

* * *

All he could think was that he had to keep running.

Loki fled over the landscape, his booted feet barely touching the grassy ground below him as he came closer to his destination.

Run…run, run!

It was unbearably hot.

RUN!

But it deterred him not.

His spinning mind blazed through five different attacks and assist plans at once, stuttering to a halt a few times from overexertion and heat exhaustion and making him trip. Even though he was ill, the second prince of Asgard streaked through the jungle with the grace of a doe, avoiding small obstacles like they were nothing. The greenery blurred into a vortex of colour and the dizziness caused him to trip violently once more, tumbling head over heels on to his face. For a shifting moment, he lay there, shuddering viciously and melting slowly into the loamy earth beneath him.

Where was he?

Why was he running?

…The Doctor…?

Legs trembling like a newborn foal as he stood yet again, Loki sagged against the nearby trunk and sweat dripped off his forehead on to the cutting bark.

* * *

"You were very clever, weren't you? Pretending to have called off all attacks for years and years." The Doctor stipulated, plodding forward and waving off their stances with a laugh. "Biding your time…just waiting to strike when they weren't expecting it."

They shone in the bright light as they waited with no words in front of him, refusing to tell him anything.

"But they're almost extinct, you know that?" he intoned carefully as he shuffled a little closer to the block, his hands in his pockets. "And yet you keep going anyway."

His fingers brushed the edge of his sonic screwdriver and he drew himself up firmly, not breaking eye contact.

"I'm stopping you."

"Can you? We are perfect." Droned a Cyberman.

"Ooohhh, nobody's perfect. And when someone thinks they are, they're the least perfect of all."

It all happened in a second. As the Doctor whipped out his screwdriver, a thick, blinding fog descended from nowhere, covering him in a protective barrier. The Cybermen were going crazy, unable to see what was going on. He could still see the power source and a chill took hold.

Loki.

"I _told_ you to stay where you were, Loki!" he shouted in frustration, gritting his teeth as he aimed the sonic at the supply and setting it to the right frequency. An explosion ripped him off his feet and he rolled away from the destruction as the Cybermen's electronic whines of death continued long after the initial noise had died down. Raising his head, he witnessed the parts settling on the ground from where the Cybermen had internally combusted.

It was a graveyard once more.

"Loki?" he called, getting up and brushing some dirt and dust off himself as the three warriors darted over, concern on their faces. "Loki!"

A small rustle of branches and leaves alerted them to his presence and the Doctor rushed to his side as he emerged, verdant orbs wheeling in a cloudy blankness. He was barely present and as the Time Lord grabbed his shoulders tightly, he twitched his head.

"Oh…" he whispered and collapsed.

Scooping him up, the Doctor hastily said thank you to the three men, who just blinked at their dead for, and bolted for the TARDIS, knowing that Loki needed help.

"Hang on, Loki. Everything's going to be okay."

* * *

The Aztecs waited outside with bright smiles and cheered as one when the Doctor appeared from the depths of the blue box, unable to stop himself from returning the sentiment.

"My friend is tucked up safely and he's asleep. So you don't have to worry about him either!"

The female Elder came forward with a twine bracelet adorned with a rainbow of beads.

"You have our eternal thanks and friendship. This bracelet will alert us if you need our guidance or assistance. Your friend gets one too." She murmured gently as the other Elder handed over a green and black one.

After a few surprise hugs and final farewells, with promises to return, the Doctor flew away in his spaceship once more. He sat down heavily beside a supposedly sleeping Loki, feeling the cold of the fan he had blasting on the Asgardian's flushed face.

"You are hard work, you know that." He reported with a cheeky grin.

"I try." Retorted the former prince weakly.

"Onwards then?"

"…Yes. Onwards."

A hand rested on his cheek and Loki closed his eyes in content at last.

* * *

Alrighty, this was written to Guren no Yumiya and All the Strange Strange Creatures! Someone we all know and love will start their adventures with us next chapter.

Love Lily. X


	17. Chapter 17

Drums of Asgard.

Hello hello hello! It's time for the new companion to be revealed…

That's right, it's DONNA! It's been a while since I've seen the Adipose episode so most of this is being done from memory and a quick brush up on Youtube.

Have fun reading and I hope it's accurate enough!

* * *

The Adipose.

Loki recovered quickly from his trip to Terra and the Doctor was able to give him back the sketch book he had personally journeyed into the forest for before they had left.

He still couldn't help thinking that Loki wasn't telling him something and his curious mind, as always, wanted to know what that secret was. It couldn't be that terrible, right? If it was just a medical condition, they could work around that. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

The door closing brought him out of his thoughts as Loki stepped into the console room, his green eyes fixed on his face.

"What did you call me here for?" he asked shortly, clearly irritated at being interrupted.

"There's a new company that's just sprung up out of nowhere in Britain." He answered, fiddling with the console controls.

The look of boredom on Loki's face almost made him snort with laughter.

"And that is supposed to make me care because…?"

"They brought out a new "drug" that's supposed to make the fat just "walk away". It seems a little bit too good to be true."

Loki tilted his head in honest confusion.

"Why do they not just do exercise?"

The Doctor chuckled and set the controls for England.

* * *

_Okay, Donna, nice and easy does it. You don't want anyone being suspicious of you now._

Donna mentally ran over the plan in her head one more time. She was a marketing saleswoman, going door to door, doing a survey on the product and how it was doing for the customers so far. That happened all the time…right?

Sighing, she smoothed down her jacket and knocked smartly on the door twice.

Shuffling sounded and a woman opened the door, fussing with her purple outfit.

"Hi, can I help you? I have to make this quick, I'm going out shortly."

"Oh sorry, I'm Donna, part of the marketing team at Adipose? We're just doing a quick survey on customer satisfaction so far."

She dallied for a moment, clearly wondering whether it would be worth her time, then nodded quickly.

"Alright, come on in!"

Donna stepped through, gazing around at the neat little place, with its cream walls and colour matching cushions.

"Nice place you got here." She called, sitting down carefully on the sofa.

"Thanks! So, you wanted to know about the pill then, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, if you don't mind." Donna took up a pen and placed it to her pad expectantly, blue eyes locking on to the woman's face. "Wait, sorry, what's your name?

"Stacey."

The two shook hands briefly and Stacey carried on as she inserted a tiny gold earring on to her left earlobe.

"It's worked wonders! I find it so much easier to lose weight and I can still eat the food I enjoy without having to worry about any side effects. The fat really feels like it walks off you!" she laughed, putting in the other earring and patting down her hair.

Donna made a few notes (not that she would really need them anyway, but they might be useful for her snooping) and watched Stacey take out a pendent from her bag.

"They gave me this free necklace with it too, which I didn't really need…but it's pretty nice of them, don't you think?"

Donna took it from her at her 'take it' gesture, turning it over in her hands. The chain was a fairly simple gold, with a pill like pendent hanging off the end. It seemed like a weird thank you for buying their product.

Stacey excused herself and headed into the small bathroom to make final preparations for the night ahead. She smiled at herself in the mirror, feeling more confident than she had in months and couldn't help feeling amused at Donna's ramblings in the other room.

The red head absentmindedly twisted the pill in one direction, her mind elsewhere.

A jolt from her stomach pulled Stacey's smile off her face and she stared down at herself in confusion.

"What…?"

Donna screwed it the other way and she felt the pull move her forward. Nervously, Stacey pulled up her dress shirt and nearly screamed when she saw her stomach pulsating, moving like a parasite was wriggling under her skin. Oh god, was it one of those tapeworms things?

What happened next would not be retold, for Stacey would no longer be around to tell of it. With an awful squelching noise, her stomach extended to the point where she thought it would explode and…a strangely cute blob fell into the sink. She stared in terror and had an urge to laugh hysterically as it waved at her and began climbing out of her little window. More movement made her whimper out loud and Donna got off the couch, swearing she heard a noise.

"Stacey? Stacey, is everything alright?"

Another thing plopped on to the floor and another into the sink and her cries attracted Donna to the door.

"Stacey?"

The red head tried the knob and realised that the door was locked. Frustrated, she shook the handle and pushed her shoulder against it.

"Stacey!"

It was too late for Donna to save Stacey though, for, with a final scream, she broke down into lots of rather adorable blobs. Just as Donna broke through, the final creature waved its little hand at her and fell out of the window. All Donna could do was look at the clothes on the floor in utter dismay.

It was time to get serious.

* * *

"This way!"

Loki followed as the Doctor ran around (not exactly in a straight line either), responding to the signals lighting up on his sonic screwdriver.

"No wait, this way!"

He had the most irresistible urge to roll his eyes as he paced behind the time traveller, becoming increasingly impatient with the chopping and changing. This had been going on for an hour straight and Loki wanted to commit murder.

Wouldn't be the first time, he thought irritably.

"No no, sorry, THIS way."

Loki came to a halt, truly fed up.

"Where are we going and why?"

His demand to be answered was met with a silly grin that infuriated the adopted Asgardian.

"My screwdriver's picked up alien activity – in other words, an anomaly. The problem is, there's more than one and I'm not sure which one I should respond to first."

Loki's retort was interrupted by a door opening and a man's head poking out, his eyes searching.

"Hey, did you see it?"

"Bingo…" Doctor muttered, his eyes twinkling and he strolled over to the man like he had all the time in the world. "See what exactly?"

The Midgardian looked around for a moment, then motioned into his home.

"Think you'd better come in."

The Doctor happily accepted, treading through the doorway, with a warier Loki behind him. The man introduced himself as George and without preamble, started talking about strange happenings in his household.

"I've been hearing something going through my cat flap and I know it's not a cat because something doesn't feel right about this," he said with conviction, pointing at the cat flap. "And it's started ever since I got those weight loss pills."

The Doctor pulled on his glasses and scanned the cat flap as George crouched next to him and continued talking., seemingly unfazed by the sonic device. "They've been brilliant, as you can probably tell, but…this is going to sound ridiculous."

"That's alright!" laughed the Time Lord. "My friend and I specialise in the ridiculous, don't we, Loki?"

Loki hummed noncommittally.

"The pill…the company producing them says the fat just walks away. I'm starting to wonder…what if it actually does?"

The two men at the cat flap exchanged glances and the Jotun remained silent.

* * *

Cameras flashed wildly at the stage as she flashed a dazzling smile for the audience, standing in front of a huge flat screen.

"Our product is unlike anything others have produced before," she intoned over the questions of journalists, straightening her pencil skirt. "We guarantee a weight loss factor of just over a month."

With another award winning smile, the CEO for Adipose Industries held up a small white pill, her eyes gleaming with the thrill of winning the prize.

"The fat just…walks away."

* * *

Okay, here is the first part of Adipose! There are gaps in my memory, thanks to not having seen this episode for a while and I can't find the episode to rewatch it. So, hopefully this is as accurate as possible.

Love Lily. X


End file.
